UNAIDS projections show Fiji will have about 25,000 HIV cases by the year 2030 if current interventions are ineffective, says Ministry of Health and Medical Services principal medical officer Sexual Reproductive Health, and HIV Unit Harm Reduction lead Dr Sailosi Soqo.

Speaking at the 2026 Pacific HIV Symposium at the Sheraton Fiji Golf Resort and Spa in Nadi yesterday, Dr Soqo said the absence of harm reduction or other new interventions would further exacerbate the growing epidemic.

“So, at that rate, it’s going to be the biggest, highest rate increase in HIV cases in the world, and it will plateau, it will continue for that trend for a few years,” he said.

“We don’t know, five years down the line, where that age group is because now, we’re getting lots of children born with HIV, the transmission between the mother to the child. ”

Dr Soqo said the branches of transmission also played a role in case numbers.

“We have already implemented other new preventative measures, like PrEP (Pre Exposure Prophylaxis).

“We have a condom campaign, but no one is taking condoms.”

Dr Soqo said medical practitioners were now concerned that people were not taking the medication and the possibility that the virus may mutate and resist treatment medication being administered to those who have tested positive.

“So, when I say resistance (that means) now you’re taking the medication, but it does not work, so the body is rejecting it.

“That’s happening for other diseases, with other antibiotics, but the worry is for this one,so, we don’t want to paint a bad picture, a bad future, but that’s the reality.”

Source: Fiji Times