HIV / AIDS has become Fiji's "time bomb"

 Fijian President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau on Monday described HIV/AIDS as a "time bomb", saying nowhere will be the threat of HIV/AIDS much more than a ticking "time bomb" than in a little, creating country inside the middle of the South Pacific.

At the opening remarks of the HIV Decree workshop in Suva, Nailatikau said the productive portion of Fiji's population was under threat from this scourge which if not right away and effectively addressed threatens to debilitate not only our people but also the fragile economy upon which they depend.

Fiji's economy was dependent on tourism and the slightest indication of well being issues could cripple what was successfully the lifeline of the economy, he said.

Given that the confirmation of the first HIV/AIDS case in Fiji in 1989, the prevalence of the illness has averaged 0.1 percent in a population of about 800,000 individuals. Until December 2010, there have been 366 diagnosed circumstances of HIV/AIDS in Fiji.

In 2004 and 2008, it was discovered that up to 29 percent and 26 percent of pregnant females in Fiji had Chlamydia. Nailatikau said the alarming figures indicates the growing risk of the rapid spread of HIV infection.

"The key to defusing this possible time bomb is actually a multifaceted approach to the eradication of HIV/AIDS and we intend to make use of each and every probable tool at our disposal to guarantee that national progress isn't stopped, development is not stippled by something within our control," he said.

In 1989, Fiji established the National Aids Committee to strengthen the country's response to HIV/AIDS which led to voluntary confidential counseling and testing made in wellness care facilities. The initiative included the introduction of the no cost Anti Retroviral Treatment for the management of HIV/AIDS in 2004.

New legislative measures saw the gazetting earlier this year of the very first ever HIV/Aids Decree. The comprehensive document provides human rights-based measures to assist in HIV prevention, and HIV/AIDS care and support.

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