A HIV advocate is calling on the Government to include those living with HIV in the fight against the disease.
Temo Sasau said the Government needed to have them speak and talk about their issues.
“Nothing about us, without us,” Mr Sasau said.
“Leaders can continue to speak for us, but they need to have us speak and talk about our issues.”
Most importantly, Mr Sasau said people living with HIV needed to be the centre of the response.
“Fiji has a big number of people living with HIV who have come out publicly about their HIV status.
“Use them because we need to see the faces and hear the voices of those who are going through the experience.”
Mr Sasau said there was a need for awareness of the disease.
“So that they will be able to protect themselves and know what to do if they find out or even suspect that their loved ones are living with the virus,” he said.
Mr Sasau said people living with HIV continue to get discriminated against up North.
Health Ministry data also show people were becoming sexually active at a younger age, with statistics indicating some were contracting HIV as young as 15.
When asked if children as young as 10 were sexually active, Mr Sasau said it was possible.
“Definitely, people are becoming sexually active at a younger age,” he said, adding there was a noticeable increase in cases of teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 years.
“There’s an increase in the lower age bracket,” he said.
Mr Sasau said the ministry’s data showed there were 26 per cent of new cases of HIV recorded last year from the age of 30 to 39 years.
“This is the age group whereby they are more sexually active,” he said.
