Popular honeymoon destination declares national emergency over massive HIV surge

Highlighting the rapid acceleration of the crisis, Fiji recorded more than 2,000 new cases in 2025 alone, representing a staggering 16-fold increase compared to 2019, The New York Times reported.

The scope of the epidemic is vast for a nation of fewer than 1 million people.

The human toll is already mounting. Fifty-nine infants were born in 2025 with the virus, the AP and Reuters reported, and 18 died before their first birthday.

As island nations increasingly serve as transit hubs for illicit drugs moving toward Australia and New Zealand, local markets for substances like methamphetamine have flourished.

Atonio Lalabalavu, Fiji's health minister, announced that the situation, previously labeled an outbreak in January 2025, now requires a comprehensive, whole-of-government response.

Lalabalavu emphasized that the approach is focused on protecting people rather than judging, watching or shaming them.

The international community is raising alarms over the speed of the transmission.

Regional health directors also warned that because Fiji operates as a major transport and tourism hub, the crisis could easily spread to other South Pacific nations if swift, stigma-reducing action is not taken by government, community and religious leaders.

These practices can put people who inject drugs in Fiji at an increased risk of HIV transmission.

The "Bluetooth trend" has impacted the spread with individuals injecting the blood of an already intoxicated person to achieve a high when they cannot afford their own drugs.

At the time, Munkhtuya Altangerel, U.N. Development Program representative, said the findings of the assessments were a wake-up call.

"We must act decisively and urgently to scale up harm reduction, expand access to HIV testing and treatment and ensure that no one is left behind."

Ashley J. DiMella of Fox News Digital, as well as The Associated Press and Reuters, contributed reporting.