Talking about HIV

THE revelation in Parliament that three of the 11 children diagnosed with HIV last year contracted the illness through sexual transmission is a major concern.

When Health Minister Dr Atonio Lalabalavu revealed this in Parliament this week, it would have attracted attention.

The ministry, he said, was fighting an uphill battle with the increasing number of cases of HIV and AIDS.

We recorded 415 new HIV cases in Fiji from January to December 2023 compared to 245 cases for the same period in 2022.

Of these cases, 404 were adults, and 11 cases were of children.

Dr Lalabalavu said three of the children got HIV through sexual transmission, while eight children got HIV/AIDS through mother-to-child transmission.

There were 298 males, 122 females and four were transgender.

He said 31 of the cases were aged between 15 to 19 years, and last year, 82 people died from HIV.

We also learn that Fiji is one of the top countries in the Asia-Pacific region with rapidly rising new HIV infections, according to the Global AIDS Monitoring Report.

A couple of issues stand out in the wake of Dr Lalabalavu’s statement.

First of all is the fact that we have very young children who are sexually active, and then there is the bit about drug users.

The ministry, he said, is aware of the link between the use of illicit drugs and the rise in HIV cases.

He raised the issue of what he terms “blue toothing for IV drug users and chem-sex amongst the younger population which are fuelling the rise in new HIV cases”.

HIV remains a major global public health issue according to the World Health Organization.

It has claimed 40.4 million lives so far with ongoing transmission in all countries globally.

There were an estimated 39.0 million people living with HIV at the end of 2022, two thirds of them, about 25.6 million in the WHO African region.

An estimated 2.2 million people were living with HIV in the Western Pacific region.

So the next question is how do we effectively deal with these major challenges?

Clearly there has to be more awareness about the dangers of drug use, drug abuse, and the sharing of needles.

That means empowering our children. It means talking about drugs, about sexual abuse and sex in general. For parents and guardians, it means appreciating peer pressure and being there for our children. We have a massive challenge before us.

We should be promoting good health, informed decisions, and responsible behaviour!