Fiji has declared a national emergency in response to rapidly escalating HIV infections, broadening access to testing, treatment, and preventive care.
Approximately one in 60 adults across the small Pacific nation now lives with the virus, up from one in 167 five years ago, while an increasing number of infants are succumbing to HIV-related complications.
In 2025 alone, the country of fewer than one million residents recorded 2,016 new diagnoses, according to Health Minister Antonio Lalabalavu, who warned that ‘an outbreak-level response is no longer sufficient’.
Health experts and NGOs have told the BBC that the epidemic is driven by rising drug use, unprotected sex, needle sharing, and the dangerous practice of ‘bluetoothing’.
‘Bluetoothing,’ also known as ‘hotspotting,’ involves intravenous drug users injecting the blood of intoxicated peers, a practice that has contributed to a global HIV surge, particularly in Africa and the Pacific region.
Users find the practice appealing because it is cheaper—multiple people can pool money for a single dose and share it—and because syringes are scarce in Fiji, encouraging reuse of equipment.
