In the last 5 years, an average of 7 pregnant women are diagnosed with HIV in pregnancy every year.
This was highlighted by the Minister for Health Doctor Ifereimi Waqainabete in Parliament yesterday while speaking on HIV.
Doctor Waqainabete says there is no significant difference between the rate of HIV infection in males and females but there is a higher prevalence amongst the young population from 20 to 29.
He says 72 new cases of HIV and AIDS were registered in Fiji in 2018 alone and this gives Fiji an incidence rate of 8.6 per 100,000 population.
Doctor Waqainabete says from 1989 to 2018 the total number of diagnosed cases inclusive of both old and new is 930.
He says the total AIDs related deaths in the country to date that the Ministry knows of is 117.
The Minister says people living with HIV on treatment at the moment is 468.
He says the Ministry has strategies in place to maintain care from diagnosis to administration.
National Federation Party MP Pio Tikoduadua says he was alarmed and saddened by these statistics and he says this points back to the Minister.
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