Fiji's HIV Epidemic: A Crisis Fuelled by Drug Use and 'Blood Sharing'

Thu Oct 16 2025 15:02:42 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

A concerning rise in HIV cases among young Fijians has been attributed to increased drug use, unsafe practices, and the disturbing trend of 'blood sharing' during drug use. Experts warn of a looming crisis if effective measures are not taken.

Fiji is experiencing one of the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemics, with cases soaring from under 500 in 2014 to approximately 5,900 in 2024. Factors contributing to this alarming growth include increased intravenous drug use, particularly among youth, and practices such as 'bluetoothing'—where users share blood to get high. The government has declared an outbreak and is facing challenges in healthcare resources and stigma reduction. The situation suggests a potential crisis looms if significant interventions are not implemented quickly.

Ten: that's the age of the youngest person with HIV that Sesenieli Naitala has ever met.

When she first started Fiji's Survivor Advocacy Network in 2013, that young boy was yet to be born. Now he is one of thousands of Fijians to have contracted the bloodborne virus in recent years – many of them aged 19 or younger, and many of them through intravenous drug use.

More young people are using drugs, Ms Naitala explains. He was one of those young people that were sharing needles on the street during Covid.

In the past five years, Fiji – with a population of less than a million – has become the locus of one of the world's fastest growing HIV epidemics.

In 2014, the country had fewer than 500 people living with HIV. By 2024, that number surged to approximately 5,900 – an elevenfold leap. Fiji recorded 1,583 new cases in 2024 alone – a thirteenfold increase from the usual five-year average.

The rising tide of HIV cases led the Minister for Health to declare an outbreak, as he warned Fiji may record more than 3,000 new HIV cases by the end of 2025, highlighting the situation as a national crisis.

Experts have linked this crisis to a spiraling trend of drug use, unsafe sex, needle sharing, and a disturbing practice known as bluetoothing, where users share blood after injecting drugs. Kalesi Volatabu from Drug Free Fiji recounts witnessing this practice firsthand, noting it not only involves needle sharing but also sharing of actual blood between users.

Crucially, Fiji has seen a serious uptick in crystal meth trafficking, necessitating immediate interventions. With a lack of educational resources and distribution of clean syringes, there remains a stark fear that the true scale of the epidemic is larger than current statistics reflect – with what experts refer to as an impending avalanche of cases on the horizon.

What we're seeing now is just the beginning of the avalanche, says expert José Sousa-Santos. The support systems aren't there to cope with this unprecedented rise in HIV cases, and the reality is terrifying.

The country faces urgent calls for better healthcare, awareness campaigns, and implementation of needle-syringe programs to combat this national emergency.