New HIV cases in Fiji rose 12-fold over seven years, a new report by the World Health Organization reveals.
The report, titled A Rapid Assessment of Injecting Drug Use and HIV in Suva, shows a dramatic increase in new HIV case notifications – from 131 in 2018 to 1583 in 2024.
The cumulative total of reported HIV cases reached 3660 last year, particularly among young people, which the report described as “deeply concerning”. Latest statistics show Fiji recorded 1226 new HIV cases in the first six months of 2025.
Meanwhile, the report also stated Fiji experienced a four-fold increase in drug-related crimes over the past decade.
“The rise in new HIV cases, particularly among young people, is deeply concerning,” the report noted.
Notifications are concentrated in the Central Division, accounting for 70 per cent of new cases, while cases in the Western Division have also risen sharply. The Northern Division has not seen a significant increase.
The report highlights a worrying trend among youths.
“In 2024, 37 per cent of new HIV notifications were among people aged 15 to 24 years, up from 20 per cent in 2022.
Among 15–19-year-olds, cases surged from six in 2022 to 165 in 2024,” it said.
Cases among children under 15 also increased, with 32 of 41 attributed to mother-to-child transmission.
Males accounted for 70 per cent of new notifications in 2024, up from 60 per cent in 2019, and a small number of cases involved transgender and gender-diverse individuals.
The report also highlighted ethnic disparities: 90 per cent of new cases were among iTaukei and 8 per cent among Indo-Fijians, compared to their population shares of 62.8 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.
The report also found HIV-related deaths in Fiji quadrupled in three years.
Recorded deaths among people living with HIV in Fiji have risen sharply, from 25 in 2021 to 126 in 2024, with nearly half of those who died being newly diagnosed that year, according to the report.
“Mortality data are poorly captured, and many AIDS-related deaths are likely unreported,” the report said.
Eight of the 2024 deaths were children under 15, highlighting the continuing risk to younger populations.
The assessment also revealed that injecting drug use is now the most common mode of HIV transmission.
Among 702 individuals starting antiretroviral therapy in 2024, 48 per cent reported injecting drug use as the likely route of infection.
At the Suva and Western HUB Centres, drug-related transmission accounted for 54 per cent and 40 per cent of new ART initiations, respectively, a sharp increase from 2021.
