TEN -10 -Age of the youngest man with HIV, Sesenieli Naitala, a former sex worker and project coordinator of survival network. When she founded Fiji’s survivor advocate in 2013, the child was not yet born. Today, he is one of the thousands of sebaceous people infected with the virus, and many cases are often related to the use of intravenous drugs. “The use of drugs among young people is increasing,” Naitala is cited by the BBC, and his organization supports sex workers and drug users of SUVA, the capital of sebum. “He was a member of the group who shared the needle on the street during the cobid.”
In the past five years, Fiji, a small Pacific island country with less than a million residents, has witnessed one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in the world. In 2014, less than 500 people lived in HIV. By 2024, the number has soared to about 5,900 and increased 11 times. Only that year, the country recorded 1,583 new infections and 13 times higher than the five -year average, up 13 times, including 41 children under 11 years of age in 2023. As a result, Fiji’s health minister declared that HIV occurred in January. Recently, Penny La Buna and Health Secretary have warned that by the end of 2025, the country can see more than 3,000 new events. “And it does not show signs of slowing.”
Experts urge more people to be tested, taking into account the increase in raising awareness and some of the stigma reduction around the HIV. However, it is likely that much infection is not reported, and it suggests that the true size of the crisis is much greater than the official figure.
Dangerous practice fuel spread
The core factor of infectious diseases is an increase in unsafe drugs and sexual practices. One of the amazing trends in particular is ‘Bluetoothing’. Here, the drug users in the vein can inject the dose and pull the blood and deliver them to others to repeat the process with others. Calesi Volatabu, managing director of drug free FIJI, witnessed this May in May. During the morning walk in Suba, she saw a group of young people gathered together to share a syringe and deliver blood. “It’s not just a needle, but shares blood,” she says.
The practice, previously reported in South Africa and Lesoto, has recently gained popularity in Fiji. It provides an affordable height and allows users to share a single syringe, which can be difficult to get due to prescription requirements and limited needle myth programs. The Fiji Health Ministry has confirmed the Bluetoothing and Chemsex as the main contribution to the increase of HIV, which use drugs such as metomphetamine during sex or during sexual activity. In particular, sebum’s crystal meters are mostly intravenous. About 20%of the 1,093 new HIV cases reported during the first nine months in 2024 were associated with the use of drugs that can be injured.
Youth and metomphetamine
Fiji has become a regional hub for Crystal Meth Trafficking due to the position between major producers in East Asia and the advantageous markets of Australia and New Zealand. The drug penetrates the community and has recently declared that the crisis is a “national emergency situation.” The front line workers report that the age of the employer is steadily decreasing.
According to national HIV data, 48%of infections are associated with the use of drugs that can be injured, 47%are related to sexual propagation, and most pediatric cases are caused by the transmission between mothers. Ms. Volatabu and Naitala emphasize that lack of education are the core elements of infectious diseases and their organizations are trying to raise awareness.
New Zealand University of Canterbury University, José Sousa-Santos, warned of taxes. “The current crisis is a problem for the next three years as well as the current crisis. Fiji lacks resources (medical staff, treatment access and distribution system) to manage this.”
