Fiji has an opportunity to lead the Pacific in reversing rising HIV infections linked to injecting drug use, says the chairperson of the country’s HIV Outbreak Taskforce, Dr Jason Mitchell.
He made the remarks during the Pacific Regional and National Security Conference in Suva, where health and law enforcement leaders gathered to address cross-border threats.
“If Fiji were to introduce needle and syringe programming, it would be one of the first countries to do so,” Dr Mitchell said.
Other Pacific countries are now seeing increases in HIV, he said, and might also be facing rising drug use. “We think that there might be some drug use in these populations … it’s not just amongst drug users. Drug users engage in sexual intercourse with people.”
He urged the region not to rely on outdated data but to “get ahead of the game”.
Dr Mitchell also highlighted the growing regional security-health nexus.
“What’s really new to me is how transnational crime actually has an impact on health.”
Citing the absence of harm reduction programs in the Pacific, he said, “There’s very few HIV transmissions amongst drug users in Australia and New Zealand. These interventions work.”
