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Fiji's Health Ministry Reports HIV/AIDS on Increase

Posted on: Friday, 9 September 2005, 09:00 CDT

Text of report by Fiji Village website on 9 September

The Health Ministry has today revealed that despite its best efforts, the number of people confirmed to be living with HIV/AIDS has increased to 190. The health minister, Solomoni Naivalu, revealed at the meeting of the National Advisory Committee on AIDS that there have been 19 confirmed cases from January to June this year from 171 in December 2004.

Naivalu highlighted that despite the health awareness programmes and health promotion activities, the HIV/AIDS figures continue to escalate. He also confirmed that Fijians comprise 87 per cent of all HIV/AIDS patients, with the most common method of transmission being heterosexual activities.

However, the rate of infection in Indo-Fijians has jumped from about 2 per year to five in the first six months of 2005. Seventy per cent of the 19 new cases are in the 20 to 39 year age bracket.

The minister the WHO's Anti-Retro Viral Treatment Pilot Project will be reviewed in two weeks time, with the ARV [Anti-Retro Viral] programme likely to be made available in the north and west by the end of the year. [sentence as carried]

Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

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