Fiji declares HIV a national emergency

Fiji has declared a national emergency as HIV cases surge, and is expanding access to testing, treatment and prevention services.

About one in 60 adults in the tiny Pacific archipelago is now living with the bloodborne virus, compared with one in 167 five years ago, with a rising number of babies dying from HIV-related complications. A spiralling trend of drug use, unsafe sex, needle sharing and “bluetoothing” is underpinning the epidemic.