Fiji HIV Epidemic Hits Children Amid Drugs and Stigma

Published: 24 February 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

The night her baby’s heart stopped, Clare* blamed herself. Had she taken her out in the cold too much? Had she damaged her lungs by drinking iced water during pregnancy? She fixated on Andi’s tiny chest, willing it to suck in air, rushing her to hospital in Fiji for the second time in as many days.

Through the early hours, Andi* clung to life. Doctors performed CPR multiple times, puncturing the month-old baby’s chest to insert a drain and remove fluid from around her lungs. “She was really, really sick and they didn’t know what was going on … she was getting weaker and weaker,” Clare says. She sat by her daughter’s bedside and prayed.

Then, doctors asked to perform an HIV test. Clare was confused, insisting she didn’t have it, having been tested before. Andi was HIV positive. So were Clare and her husband. During late pregnancy or while breastfeeding, Clare had contracted the virus and passed it to her daughter, who will now live with a chronic disease. “I thought it was the end of the world,” Clare says. She turned to her husband, an injecting drug user. “He said, ‘No, I’ve been cautious with this.’ I said, ‘We don’t know. So we’ll just have to figure this out, for the betterment of her’.”

Clare’s family is one of thousands affected by Fiji’s HIV crisis, with new cases more than tripling between 2023 and 2024. Over 1,200 people were diagnosed in the first half of 2025, making it the world’s fastest-growing HIV epidemic amid declining global aid. The UN attributes this to Fiji’s role as a drug-trafficking hub, rising methamphetamine use, unsafe injecting practices, and lack of access to clean needles. Low health awareness, cultural stigma, and insufficient testing and treatment further exacerbate the crisis.

Now, infections increasingly affect the most vulnerable: babies born with HIV or AIDS-related complications. Health authorities report that one baby a week is diagnosed with HIV via mother-to-child transmission. Intensive care units are seeing a surge in babies needing life support, with one child under five dying monthly, says Dr. Jason Mitchell, head of Fiji’s HIV epidemic response. “It is preventable. It is inexcusable to have any more children born with HIV,” he emphasizes.

Fiji, an archipelago of around 930,000 people in the South Pacific, is a deeply Christian nation where traditional beliefs and customary healing persist, particularly among the iTaukei, or Indigenous Fijians, who make up about half the population. iTaukei also comprise roughly 90% of HIV cases.

“If you’re living with HIV you’re sinful, you’re going to hell, period. Religious values make it worse, because whatever the preacher says about ‘HIV is a sin’ is seeded in our heart,” says Christopher Lutukivuya, 38, an HIV activist living with the virus since 2013. He recounts friends being ostracized, forced to live in basements, or even taking their own lives rather than acknowledge their diagnosis. He assists those avoiding clinics, picking up medication and arranging tests.

Knowledge gaps remain widespread. Dr. Mark Jacobs, WHO representative for the South Pacific, notes that Fiji faces issues once common in 1980s Australia: lack of awareness about needle sharing, absence of safe needle programs, limited understanding of treatment, and reluctance to use condoms. Village leaders sometimes incorrectly attribute mother-to-child HIV transmission to the mother’s fault or are unaware that the infection is treatable.

“Even educated women may struggle to negotiate condom use with partners,” says Francine*, an Indo-Fijian woman in her mid-30s who contracted HIV from an IV-drug-using partner while breastfeeding.

The epidemic disproportionately affects young people. On the streets of Suva, children survive through theft or drug distribution, often injecting meth on first exposure. Dr. Dashika Balak explains that many remain on the streets because it is where they find both drugs and a sense of belonging.

Children are becoming addicted to meth as it moves through Fiji en route to New Zealand and Australia, with transnational criminal networks targeting the islands as a market. Social workers at Kauwai Youth Restoration Home, led by pastor Amani Waqetia, work to rehabilitate these youths, offering structured routines, nutrition, therapy, and faith.

Among them are Isac*, 17, who ran from an abusive uncle, and Nemaia*, 15, who fell into a life of theft and needle-sharing. Both contracted HIV. Isac recovered with structured support and now attends school, plays guitar, and trains in athletics. Nemaia, once aggressive and streetbound, now mentors younger residents, taking daily medication and leading a healthy life.

Despite the challenges, health professionals stress that HIV is manageable with treatment and early intervention. For Fiji’s young and vulnerable, timely care and awareness can mean the difference between life and death.

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