Cabinet has endorsed the declaration of Fiji’s HIV outbreak as a national health crisis as the government moves to strengthen its response to the issue.
Minister for Information Lynda Tabuya confirmed this after the Cabinet meeting, saying Cabinet extensively discussed a paper on Fiji’s HIV response and received further information from Dr Jason Mitchell and his team.
Tabuya says they are declaring it a national crisis under emergency powers and it is important for Fiji to respond accordingly.
She says the government is taking the issue very seriously, with funding being provided through Fiji’s development partners as well as the national budget.
Tabuya says the Ministry of Health already has a dedicated unit focused on responding to the HIV crisis.
