Fiji declares a national HIV emergency

Fiji declared a national HIV emergency in September 2026 after data showed about one adult in 60 in the South Pacific country was living with the virus, and began urgently expanding testing and treatment. UNAIDS puts the rise in new infections at twelvefold over the past fifteen years, according to the Associated Press. Five years ago the rate was one adult in 167.

The scale is large for a country of fewer than a million people. UNAIDS estimated around 9,000 people were living with HIV in Fiji as of 2025, and the New York Times reported more than 2,000 new cases in 2025 alone, sixteen times the 2019 figure. One pregnant woman in 50 is now infected. The AP and Reuters reported that 59 infants were born with the virus in 2025 and that 18 of them died before their first birthday.