Fiji's HIV situation has sharply deteriorated, with authorities declaring the virus a national crisis after new diagnoses jumped 27% in a year, infohub.kz reports.
According to Reuters, 2,016 people were diagnosed with HIV in 2025. That same year, 59 children were born with the virus, and 18 of them died before their first birthday.
Authorities said expanded testing has allowed treatment to begin at earlier stages. Fiji now plans to broaden access to free and confidential testing as well as preventive medications.
Fiji — a country of about 900,000 people — is experiencing one of the world's sharpest increases in new infections. By some estimates, 9,100 people were living with HIV there last year, yet only 39% knew their status and 22% were receiving antiretroviral therapy.
According to the World Health Organization, one in every 60 adults in Fiji now lives with HIV. However, that rate is lower than in some parts of Africa, where WHO data show nearly one in every 35 adults has the diagnosis.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that researchers tested whether specialized antibodies could make HIV treatment more effective in infants.
Today, about 1.5 million children worldwide live with HIV, and roughly 130,000 infants are infected each year.