Fiji could record more than 2,000 new HIV infections this year unless urgent action is taken, Assistant Minister for Health Penioni Ravunawa warned in Parliament, describing the situation as edging into what experts are now calling a generalised HIV epidemic.
Ravunawa told MPs that the scale of the outbreak has jumped sharply: cumulative reported HIV cases rose from about 3,660 in 2024 to 5,676 in 2025. New infections reported in health facilities climbed from 415 cases in 2023 to 1,583 in 2024 — an increase of roughly 281 percent in reported new diagnoses year-on-year. Based on current trends, he warned, the country could exceed 2,000 new infections this year if immediate measures are not taken.
The Assistant Minister stressed that these official figures only reflect people tested in health facilities, and that the true number of infections is likely higher because of unreported or undiagnosed cases. He singled out a worrying rise in infections among young people aged 20 to 24, a demographic he said should be a focus of intensified prevention and outreach efforts.
Ravunawa called for stronger national coordination across government and health services to stem the tide, warning that without rapid scale-up of testing, prevention and treatment efforts the burden on Fiji’s health system will worsen. He said the current spike is the consequence of inaction by the previous administration, alleging that early warnings about rising HIV cases flagged to the prior government were not met with sufficient urgency.
The minister’s statement marks a sharp escalation in the public health narrative around HIV in Fiji. Health officials’ confirmation of a steep rise in facility-confirmed diagnoses over the past two years — and the characterization of the situation as a generalised epidemic — raises immediate policy and resource questions for the Ministry of Health and its partners. Health system capacity, including testing, linkage to antiretroviral treatment and prevention programmes, will be tested if projected increases materialise.
Ravunawa’s intervention is the latest development in a story that public health experts have been monitoring. The rapid increase in reported cases heightens the need for data-driven responses that reach young adults and other at-risk groups, expand community testing and ensure people living with HIV are rapidly linked to and maintained on treatment to reduce transmission. The Assistant Minister’s comments make clear that deliberate national action is now being urged to avert a larger public health crisis.
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