Fiji declares HIV emergency. One in 60 people now have the virus as drug crisis fuels outbreak

A Medical Services Pacific Moonlight program team offering free HIV testing during an outreach visit to a suburb of Suva, Fiji, on March 19, 2026. - AFP/Getty Images The small Pacific nation of Fiji has declared a national HIV emergency as it grapples with surging case numbers, partly driven by a growing methamphetamine problem.

One in every 60 adults in the archipelago of less than a million people are now estimated to have Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) –– bucking a global trend of falling rates of the incurable, but treatable, virus.

A tourism hotspot famed for its friendly culture, white-sand beaches and teeming coral reefs, Fiji first declared an outbreak of the virus in January 2025 and ramped up testing, revealing the scale of the spiraling public health crisis.