Chairman of Fiji’s National HIV Outbreak and Cluster Response Taskforce Dr Jason Mitchell has highlighted this as Fiji has declared HIV a national crisis, with the Government introducing a formal needle and syringe programme as well as expanded testing, treatment and prevention measures.
He says one of the major challenges currently faced is the need for additional human resources to get more people onto treatment and care.
While responding to questions on the gap between the number of people diagnosed with HIV and those receiving treatment, Dr Mitchell says they hope support from the Cabinet subcommittee will allow additional staff to be quickly mobilised and trained.
He says different outreach models will also be introduced to reach people who need to be diagnosed and enrolled in care.
The Taskforce Chair says another serious challenge is ensuring people remain in care after starting treatment.
He says Fiji needs to look at different ways of supporting people to remain on treatment and care for the rest of their lives.
Dr Mitchell stresses that while HIV currently has no cure, treatment is available that can keep people healthy and well throughout their lives.
However, he says people need support to remain on treatment.
Dr Mitchell highlights that Fiji has been slow in this area but says additional Cabinet support should allow services to be scaled up and made more widely available across the country.
Meanwhile, Minister for Health Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu says the Government is aware Fiji’s HIV crisis could have economic implications.
He says this is one of the reasons the Cabinet subcommittee was formed, allowing the Government to look at the crisis holistically and work closely with the respective ministries.
Dr Lalabalavu says the Government has chosen to be transparent about Fiji’s HIV situation and tell the international community that the country has a problem and is taking steps to address it.
He says the focus is on reducing HIV transmission and bringing the current crisis under control.
