As a new public health report regarding HIV and also the drug usage in Fiji has been brought up, it has started to strongly encourage a needle and syringe program (NSP) to take place to provide sterilized injecting equipment, as the efforts to pause the fast-growing HIV epidemic in the Pacific island nation are running on a thin timeline.
Authorized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the tests will be done on interviews with 56 people who inject drugs and discussions with 50 key informants, including people from civil society, health services, government, law enforcement, and also faith-based organizations.
Officially declaring an HIV outbreak in 2025, this continued on with a high increase in new infections, some of which are commonly linked to unsafe practices in injecting and also limited access to sterile supplies. In recent years, Fiji’s HIV cases have more than doubled the original number of cases. As thousands are now currently living with the virus, there are quite a large amount of new infections associated with injected drug usage.
Participants who took part in these interviews mentioned how crystal methamphetamine, which is quite commonly available and also can be bought at a cheap price, has become frequent across the different parts of Fijian society. Noticing and taking into account that sterilized needles and syringes are extremely hard to come across, especially in urbanized areas such as Suva, it has now prompted many individuals to reuse or share equipment, which is the number one major cause for widespread HIV.
The report highlights that expanding access to sterile injecting equipment is among the most effective measures to prevent HIV and hepatitis C transmission among people who inject drugs. It recommends easily accessible services that are free and do not require strict rules, like mandatory testing or counseling, provided through trusted channels such as peers, pharmacies, and existing health services.
Importantly, the authors strongly highlight that such programs should be linked with broader health services, enabling people to access HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and referrals for drug treatment as well as mental health support. The report makes a clear warning that delays in implementation will lead to nothing other than continued preventable infections.
The rapid assessment highlights wider knowledge gaps about HIV transmission among people who inject drugs and ongoing stigma that limits engagement with health services. People view the introduction of NSPs, along with expanded education and treatment access, as crucial for reversing current trends and safeguarding both individual and public health.
