Latest news with #RenataRam
Scoop
5 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
Drug Use Driving HIV Surge In Fiji
Correction: An earlier version of this article quoted UNAIDS Pacific adviser Renata Ram saying that "60 percent of HIV deaths were due to late diagnosis". However, that was incorrect. Rather "60 out of the 126 deaths in 2024 were late diagnosis". The United Nations says Fiji's "drug-driven" HIV surge last year, which claimed the lives of 126 people, is a "case of complacency". UNAIDS Pacific adviser Renata Ram told Pacific Waves that eight children were among those who died from HIV-related illnesses in the country last year. She said that in 2024, Fiji recorded its highest-ever annual total of HIV cases - 1583 new diagnoses - representing a 281 percent increase from 2023. "The response here in Fiji is about 15 years behind what is needed. We're still not getting testing done within a shorter period of time." She said that assessments done by the country's Health Ministry show that it takes about 22 days for a person to get their HIV results, on average. The epidemic is also getting younger: 76.7 percent of all new infections last year were among those aged 18-34, with 165 cases among 15-19 year olds, and 41 cases among children younger than 15. The main factor behind the sudden surge, with most cases concentrated in Fiji's Central Division, has been injecting drug use, Ram said. "In terms of mode of transmission, 48 percent of known modes of transmission of cases were due to injecting drug use, with around 40 percent through sexual transmission. So injecting drug use is emerging as a major health threat and it's not addressed." In the recent past, Fiji has been able to manage HIV levels through community-led programmes benefitting from donor funding. Ram said that over the past few years a donor exodus has put more pressure on an already struggling health system. This has pushed HIV to the top of the priority list for Fiji in its pleas for aid across the developed world, with Australia adding FJ$5.7 million to a $38m package targetting health infrastructure. Ram said that New Zealand, which had an estimated two HIV-related deaths in 2024, has shown what an effective community-led approach can look like. "New Zealand was the first country in the world to start with harm reduction and needle exchange who use drugs, sex workers and young people connect better with their own communities." Budget funding a good start The government has allocated FJ$10m to tackle the country's surge in HIV/AIDS to the Ministry of Health & Medical Services in its 2025/2026 budget. This is out of the health sector's total allocation of FJ$611.6m. Ram commended this action but said that much more needs to be done. "The Fijian government has estimated the need for about FJ$14m over the next four years to really get ahead of the curve, because it's not about only addressing the HIV outbreak, but it's also about system strengthening." Hospitals often run out of drug supplies because they underestimate the number of cases they receive thanks to quality of data, Ram said. "We're having problems with quantification, knowing how much drugs we need for people that need treatment. So this becomes an issue, and we are having lots of stock out as well. "60 [of the 126 deaths] were late diagnosis, so they were diagnosed and passed away within a short span of time." The Ministry of Health in Fiji has yet to release data for the 2025 year to date. The Fiji Medical Association (FMA) has raised alarm bells over these data gaps. The association's president Dr Alipate Vakamocea told FBC that the country is "flying blind". "We are in an active outbreak. This is not normal and the issue that we have is, you know, we did that during Covid-19. It's dispersed. We declared an outbreak earlier this year. We're still referring to statistics from 2024." Minister of Health Dr Atonio Lalabalavu said there will be "monthly or quarterly" data updates soon.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Drug use driving HIV surge in Fiji
76.7 percent of all new infections last year were among those aged 18-34. Photo: Copyright: lightfieldstudios The United Nations says Fiji's "drug-driven" HIV surge last year, which claimed the lives of 126 people, is a "case of complacency". UNAIDS Pacific advisor Renata Ram told Pacific Waves that eight children were among those who died from HIV-related illnesses in the country last year. She said that in 2024, Fiji recorded its highest-ever annual total of HIV cases - 1583 new diagnoses - representing a 281 percent increase from 2023. "The response here in Fiji is about 15 years behind what is needed. We're still not getting testing done within a shorter period of time." She said that assessments done by the country's Health Ministry show that it takes about 22 days for a person to get their HIV results, on average. The epidemic is also getting younger: 76.7 percent of all new infections last year were among those aged 18-34, with 165 cases among 15-19 year olds, and 41 cases among children younger than 15. The main factor behind the sudden surge, with most cases concentrated in Fiji's Western Division, has been injecting drug use, Ram said. "In terms of mode of transmission, 48 percent of known modes of transmission of cases were due to injecting drug use, with around 40 percent through sexual transmission. So injecting drug use is emerging as a major health threat and it's not addressed." In the recent past, Fiji has been able to manage HIV levels through community-led programmes benefitting from donor funding. Ram says that over the past few years, a donor exodus has put more pressure on an already struggling health system. This has pushed HIV to the top of the priority list for Fiji in its pleas for aid across the developed world, with Australia adding FJ$5.7 million to a $38m package targetting health infrastructure. Ram said that New Zealand, which had an estimated two HIV-related deaths in 2024, has shown what an effective community-led approach can look like. "New Zealand was the first country in the world to start with harm reduction and needle exchange who use drugs, sex workers and young people connect better with their own communities." The government has allocated FJ$10m to tackle the country's surge in HIV/AIDS to the Ministry of Health & Medical Services in its 2025/2026 budget . This is out of the health sector's total allocation of FJ$611.6m. Ram commended this action but said that much more needs to be done. "The Fijian government has estimated the need for about 14 million Fijian dollars over the next four years to really get ahead of the curve, because it's not about only addressing the HIV outbreak, but it's also about system strengthening." Hospitals often run out of drug supplies because they underestimate the number of cases they receive thanks to quality of data, Ram said. "We're having problems with quantification, knowing how much drugs we need for people that need treatment. So this becomes an issue, and we are having lots of stock out as well. "60 percent of (deaths) were late diagnosis, so they were diagnosed and passed away within a short span of time." The Ministry of Health in Fiji has yet to release data for the 2025 year to date. The Fiji Medical Association (FMA) has raised alarm bells over these data gaps. The association's president Dr Alipate Vakamocea told FBC that the country is "flying blind" . "We are in an active outbreak. This is not normal and the issue that we have is, you know, we did that during Covid-19. It's dispersed. We declared an outbreak earlier this year. We're still referring to statistics from 2024." Minister of Health Dr Atonio Lalabalavu said there will be "monthly or quarterly" data updates soon.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Drug use driving HIV surge in Fij
76.7 percent of all new infections last year were among those aged 18-34. Photo: Copyright: lightfieldstudios The United Nations says Fiji's "drug-driven" HIV surge last year, which claimed the lives of 126 people, is a "case of complacency". UNAIDS Pacific advisor Renata Ram told Pacific Waves that eight children were among those who died from HIV-related illnesses in the country last year. She said that in 2024, Fiji recorded its highest-ever annual total of HIV cases - 1583 new diagnoses - representing a 281 percent increase from 2023. "The response here in Fiji is about 15 years behind what is needed. We're still not getting testing done within a shorter period of time." She said that assessments done by the country's Health Ministry show that it takes about 22 days for a person to get their HIV results, on average. The epidemic is also getting younger: 76.7 percent of all new infections last year were among those aged 18-34, with 165 cases among 15-19 year olds, and 41 cases among children younger than 15. The main factor behind the sudden surge, with most cases concentrated in Fiji's Western Division, has been injecting drug use, Ram said. "In terms of mode of transmission, 48 percent of known modes of transmission of cases were due to injecting drug use, with around 40 percent through sexual transmission. So injecting drug use is emerging as a major health threat and it's not addressed." In the recent past, Fiji has been able to manage HIV levels through community-led programmes benefitting from donor funding. Ram says that over the past few years, a donor exodus has put more pressure on an already struggling health system. This has pushed HIV to the top of the priority list for Fiji in its pleas for aid across the developed world, with Australia adding FJ$5.7 million to a $38m package targetting health infrastructure. Ram said that New Zealand, which had an estimated two HIV-related deaths in 2024, has shown what an effective community-led approach can look like. "New Zealand was the first country in the world to start with harm reduction and needle exchange who use drugs, sex workers and young people connect better with their own communities." The government has allocated FJ$10m to tackle the country's surge in HIV/AIDS to the Ministry of Health & Medical Services in its 2025/2026 budget . This is out of the health sector's total allocation of FJ$611.6m. Ram commended this action but said that much more needs to be done. "The Fijian government has estimated the need for about 14 million Fijian dollars over the next four years to really get ahead of the curve, because it's not about only addressing the HIV outbreak, but it's also about system strengthening." Hospitals often run out of drug supplies because they underestimate the number of cases they receive thanks to quality of data, Ram said. "We're having problems with quantification, knowing how much drugs we need for people that need treatment. So this becomes an issue, and we are having lots of stock out as well. "60 percent of (deaths) were late diagnosis, so they were diagnosed and passed away within a short span of time." The Ministry of Health in Fiji has yet to release data for the 2025 year to date. The Fiji Medical Association (FMA) has raised alarm bells over these data gaps. The association's president Dr Alipate Vakamocea told FBC that the country is "flying blind" . "We are in an active outbreak. This is not normal and the issue that we have is, you know, we did that during Covid-19. It's dispersed. We declared an outbreak earlier this year. We're still referring to statistics from 2024." Minister of Health Dr Atonio Lalabalavu said there will be "monthly or quarterly" data updates soon.
Newsroom
6 days ago
- Health
- Newsroom
The health crisis pushed by a drug crisis
Six months after Fiji declared an HIV outbreak, driven largely by a growing methamphetamine crisis, UNAIDS' Pacific adviser says other countries around the region are at risk of following suit. 'It does worry me. We have all the risk factors in all the countries that could be another possible crisis like what's happening in Fiji,' says Renata Ram, whose work covers 14 Pacific Island countries. She says testing of HIV around the Pacific Islands is poor, so they don't have a clear picture of the scale of the problem, but several countries including Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga have reported an increasing number of cases. Last year, Fiji had 1583 new cases. 'This is the highest total that they've ever seen. It's a 281 percent increase from 2023,' says Ram. And while free, life-saving treatment is available, barriers including delays in receiving results, a mobile population, spread-out geography and a stigma about the disease all play in to a relatively low uptake of treatment. Ram has been working for UNAIDS since 2017, and says the landscape has changed in that time. 'The HIV epidemic was largely driven by sexual transmission; however in early 2019 we started hearing sporadic cases of injecting drug use and domestic drug use, due to all this drug trafficking that was happening through Fiji.' One practice that has received a lot of attention and blame for spreading the virus is called 'bluetoothing', where one person, after getting a hit, withdraws their blood and shares it with other people. It's a high-risk way of 'sharing' a high, which experts say doesn't work. It comes with a high risk of contracting various blood-borne diseases, including HIV. But Ram says this has been overblown. 'There's been a lot of sensationalisation aroud bluetoothing, but it's not the main way people who use drugs actually consume their drugs. It's a very small percentage of people who actually do this. 'Sharing needles is the main cause.' Ram says that, of the data they are able to get, about 48 percent of people in Fiji have contracted HIV through injecting drugs, compared to about 43 percent from sexual transmission. (There were also 32 cases last year of mother-to-child transmission.) It's clear that behind the HIV crisis is a drug crisis. And behind the drug crisis is a change in the way that drug trafficking through Fiji works. On today's episode of The Detail, an expert in transnational crime explains how drug trafficking through Fiji has changed in the past several years to depend more on local syndicates, and the effect this is having on Fiji's drug use and resulting HIV rates. José Sousa-Santos, lead and convenor of the Pacific Regional Security Hub at the University of Canterbury, says drugs come through the Pacific Islands to New Zealand and Australia, which, despite being small markets, have some of the highest prices, due to tight control of the market. But when local traffickers are paid in drugs instead of cash, they need a local market to sell to. 'It's not the larger cartels that are looking at getting the local populations addicted, it's the smaller regional syndicates, the national syndicates, which can now really profit from these local markets. 'This creates ' foot soldiers' who help move drugs through. 'It leads us to see the road map toward Fiji in the future – if this is not addressed urgently – becoming a semi narco state … where the syndicates and the cartels have undue and strong influence over the state itself and where the government will struggle to maintain law enforcement,' he says. Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here. You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
The health crisis pushed by a drug crisis
selective focus of negative and positive hiv blood sample test on red background Photo: Copyright: lightfieldstudios Six months after Fiji declared an HIV outbreak, driven largely by a growing methamphetamine crisis, UNAIDS' Pacific advisor says other countries around the region are at risk of following suit. "It does worry me. We have all the risk factors in all the countries that could be another possible crisis like what's happening in Fiji," says Renata Ram, whose work covers 14 Pacific Islands countries. She says testing of HIV around the Pacific Islands is poor, so they don't have a clear picture of the scale of the problem, but several countries including Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga have reported an increasing number of cases. Fiji had 1583 new cases last year. "This is the highest total that they've ever seen. It's a 281 percent increase from 2023," says Ram. And while free, life-saving treatment is available, barriers including delays in receiving results, a mobile population, spread-out geography and a stigma about the disease all play in to a relatively low uptake of treatment. Ram has been working for UNAIDS since 2017, and said the landscape had changed in that time. "The HIV epidemic was largely driven by sexual transmission, however in early 2019 we started hearing sporadic cases of injecting drug use and domestic drug use, due to all this drug trafficking that was happening through Fiji." One practice that had received a lot of attention and blame for spreading the virus is called 'bluetoothing", where after one person gets a hit, they withdraw their blood and share it with other people. It is a high-risk way of 'sharing' a high, which experts say does not work. It comes with a high risk of contracting various blood-borne diseases, including HIV. But Ram said this had been overblown. "There's been a lot of sensationalisation around bluetoothing, but it's not the main way people who use drugs actually consume their drugs, it's a very small percentage of people who actually do this. "Sharing needles is the main cause." Ram said that, of the data they were able to get, about 48 percent of people in Fiji had contracted HIV through injecting drugs, compared to about 43 percent from sexual transmission. There were also 32 cases last year of mother-to-child transmission. It is clear that behind the HIV crisis is a drug crisis. Behind the drug crisis was a change in the way that drug trafficking through - and to - Fiji worked. On today's episode of The Detail, an expert in transnational crime explains how drug trafficking through Fiji has changed in the past several years to depend more on local syndicates, and the effect this is having on Fiji's drug use and resulting HIV rates. José Sousa-Santos, lead and convenor of the Pacific Regional Security Hub at the University of Canterbury, said drugs came through the Pacific Islands to New Zealand and Australia, which, despite being small markets, had some of the highest prices, due to tight control of the market. But when local traffickers were paid in drugs instead of cash, they needed a local market to sell to. "It's not the larger cartels that are looking at getting the local populations addicted, it's the smaller regional syndicates, the national syndicates, which can now really profit from these local markets. "This creates 'foot soldiers' who help move drugs through. "It leads us to see the roadmap toward Fiji in the future - if this is not addressed urgently - becoming a semi narco state ... where the syndicates and the cartels have undue and strong influence over the state itself and where the government will struggle to maintain law enforcement," he says. Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
