17/08/2026
Day one of the Pacific HIV Symposium 2026 in Nadi
Regional health leaders, clinicians, researchers, policy makers and community organisations have gathered to strengthen HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care across the Pacific.
On day one, Ratu Eroni Ledua Dina, known as Lady Rhonda, ILGA Oceania Chair and CEO and Co Founderess of Trans Affirmative Action Guild - TAAG (TAAG), joined a panel exploring a vital question: How can stigma and discrimination within health services and communities be addressed more effectively?
Speaking in both her national and regional capacity, Lady Rhonda emphasised that civil society is not an external contractor or a luxury. Community organisations are primary and indispensable health partners. Yet it is neither fair nor sustainable to expect them to sustain the regional HIV response without direct and adequate domestic resourcing.
She also spoke to what stigma looks like in practice. People do not avoid health facilities simply because they lack information. Too often, they stay away because of lived experiences of breached confidentiality, judgement from clinicians and subtle forms of institutional violence. In a public clinic, stigma is not abstract. It can be a direct and life threatening barrier to testing, treatment and care.
Lady Rhonda further noted that existing legal and structural frameworks continue to criminalise or marginalise key populations. We cannot expect someone to trust a clinic when the wider policy environment treats their identity or livelihood as illegal.
ILGA Oceania calls for a Pacific HIV response that is community led, rights based and properly resourced, with safe, confidential and non judgemental health services for everyone.
SRH and HIV Unit Fiji
