A four-month-old baby has died of HIV at the Labasa Hospital after the mother allegedly concealed her own HIV-positive status.
The infant had been admitted twice, first for pneumonia, then again with severe complications that led to a HIV test.
When the results came back positive, the mother denied any knowledge of the virus.
But Dr Tukana later discovered she had been diagnosed years earlier and was on treatment.
The case has reignited calls to break the silence around HIV, with Fijians urged to confront the deadly cost of stigma.
“Just a few weeks ago, a four-month-old baby passed away in ICU because of HIV,” Dr Tukana said.
She said the infant had been admitted twice, first for pneumonia, with no suspicion of HIV. But during the second admission, the baby’s condition rapidly deteriorated.
“That’s when we tested for HIV and the result came back positive,” she said.
Despite the result, the mother continued to deny knowing she was HIV positive or how her child could have contracted the virus.
“I did some digging and found she was diagnosed five or six years ago. She was on medication and still taking it.
“I asked her, ‘Isn’t the death of your child more important than the stigma?’
“But she didn’t budge, even after her baby died, she never admitted she knew the cause.”
She said the case was a stark example of how HIV stigma continued to cost lives.
“Let us not fail the children of Fiji.
“I stand here to advocate for the unheard.
“These children did not choose their circumstances, but we can choose to care.”
