Fiji Network Plus

03/09/2026

Fiji Network Plus (FJN+) welcomes the continued focus on HIV stigma and discrimination, BUT WE BELIEVE THE PACIFIC STORY NEEDS TO BE SEEN MORE CLEARLY.

When UNAIDS reports 32% for “Asia and the Pacific,” we must ask: where exactly is the Pacific sitting within that figure?

FJN+ has been directly involved in Stigma Index work in Fiji and across SEVEN Pacific Island countries; FSM, Kiribati, Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu. Through this work, we heard directly from people living with HIV about their experiences of stigma, discrimination, fear, judgement and the challenges they face in families, communities and health services.

THESE EXPERIENCES REMIND US THAT REGIONAL AVERAGES DO NOT ALWAYS SHOW THE FULL REALITY OF SMALL PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES.

For FJN+, there is a clear need for updated Stigma Index work in Fiji and across the Pacific. The HIV situation has changed, and we need current data that reflects what people living with HIV are experiencing today.

We also believe Pacific data should be reported more clearly and, where possible, separately from the wider Asia region. Our populations may be small, but our experiences must not be hidden in a regional average.

THE PACIFIC MUST BE VISIBLE IN THE DATA. Our voices matter. Our lived experiences matter. And ending AIDS must also mean ending stigma and discrimination.

26/08/2026

Fiji Network Plus (FJN+) fully supports the call for a compassionate and people-centred HIV response, including greater access to harm reduction, prevention, treatment and support for people who inject drugs.

Vinaka vakalevu to our FJN+ Board Member, Becca Kubunavanua, for representing FJN+ and bringing the voices and lived experiences of people living with HIV to this important panel discussion.

A FIJI Ministry of Health counsellor living with HIV for nearly 20 years has called for greater access to harm-reduction services, HIV prevention and treatment, and support for people who inject drugs.

Rebecca Kubunavanua, a counsellor with the ministry’s Sexual Reproductive Health and HIV Hub, said HIV responses must focus on people’s lives and challenges rather than statistics, policies or labels.

“When we talk about harm reduction, HIV adherence, and people who inject drugs, we are not simply talking about statistics, policies, or health interventions,” Kubunavanua said.

“We are talking about real people, live lives, families, choices, challenges, and opportunities for support.”

Read More: https://bit.ly/3Saj82D

24/08/2026

Fiji Network Plus (FJN+) is becoming deeply concerned about where the HIV conversation in Fiji is heading.

In the past few days, we have seen so much blame.

One post blames nightclubs for the increase in HIV.Another video makes claims about an unknown person living with HIV having multiple sexual partners. Others blame parents and leaders for not doing enough. Some blame gay people and the LGBTIQ+ community. Others blame Health and CSOs. We have even seen suggestions that people living with HIV should be put in prison, isolated and monitored.

This is worrying. We are slowly moving from fighting HIV to blaming each other.
BLAME will not stop HIV. FEAR will not stop HIV. STIGMA will not stop HIV. IN FACT, stigma can make people afraid to get tested, seek treatment or ask for help.

We also need people to understand HIV treatment. A person living with HIV who is on effective treatment and has an undetectable viral load cannot sexually transmit HIV. This is U=U (Undetectable equals Untransmittable).

As FJN+, we are not saying people should not take responsibility. WE ALL HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY. BUT responsibility must come with the RIGHT INFORMATION, PREVENTION, TREATMENT, SUPPORT and UNDERSTANDING.

We need parents and families. We need our community and faith leaders. We need nightclub owners and businesses. We need partners, Health, CSOs and healthcare workers. We need people living with HIV, key populations and young people. We need better access to condoms, PrEP, HIV testing, treatment and correct information. Most importantly, we need each other.

Please remember that behind every HIV statistic is a human being, someone’s child, parent, partner, friend or family member.

HIV is not one person's fault. HIV does not belong to one group of people.

FIJI WILL NOT OVERCOME HIV BY DECIDING WHO TO BLAME. We will overcome HIV WHEN WE STOP POINTING FINGERS and START WORKING TOGETHER.

Please, Fiji. Let us STOP LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO BLAME and start looking for ways to help each other

20/08/2026

The Fiji Network Plus (FJN+)would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to everyone who participated in and contributed to the 1st Pacific HIV Conference, held in Nadi from 17–18 August 2026, and the Community Meeting held at Nalagi Hotel on 19 August,organised by PSGDN and Health Equity Matters (HEM) and also the ASPHA planning for Fiji at Novotel on 20 August.

A special vinaka vakalevu to our FJN+ members who proudly represented the voices, experiences and realities of people living with HIV through presentations, panel discussions and community conversations:

Christopher Lutukivuya– Chairperson
Rusiate Naulunimagiti – HIV Peer Counselling Program Manager
Rebecca Kubunavanua – Western HIV Peer Counselling Program Coordinator & Womens Living with HIV (WLHIV) Champion
Temo Sasau– Divisional HIV Peer Counselling Coordinator, who self-funded his participationto ensure that our community voice was represented.
Joeli Colati - Executive Director

We especially acknowledge Rebecca, our PLHIV Women’s Champion, who travelled to Suva on Wednesday morning to participate in the Harm Reduction Panel Discussion at GPH before returning to Nadi that same afternoon to fulfil another commitment that evening. Your commitment and determination to ensure the voices of women living with HIVare heard and represented are deeply appreciated.

To all people living with HIV who participated in the Conference and Community Meeting, vinaka vakalevu. Every time you stand up, participate and share your lived experience, you help build greater understanding and remind everyone that PLHIV must not only be talked about, we must have a meaningful place at the table where decisions about our lives are made.

Our sincere appreciation also goes to all CSOs, community organisations, Peer Outreach Workers and Key Population representatives, with special recognition to the Rainbow Pride Foundation 4 LGBTQ Rights and Equality in Fiji (RPF) for its continued community-led leadership.

Malo vakalevu to Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Health Equity Matters Jess Hill (HEM) for supporting the logistics that enabled some of our community champions to participate, and vinaka vakalevu to Pacific Sexual and Gender Diversity Network - PSGDN for the coordination and continued support of our communities.

To ASHM, Ministry of Health & Medical Services - Fiji , the SRH and HIV Unit Fiji, Dr Jason and the team, and all organisations, partners, health workers, researchers and community champions who contributed to making this historic gathering possible, vinaka vakalevu.

Most importantly, thank you for recognising, respecting and protecting the importance of PLHIV and Key Population spaces, participation and voices throughout these important discussions.

The Conference and Community Meeting may have ended, but our work has not, May the conversations, partnerships and commitments made in Nadi now move beyond the meeting rooms and turn into real action for our communities.

Nothing about us, without us.

Vinaka vakalevu from the Fiji Network Plus family.

20/08/2026

Health Equity Matters will be leading the Community Stream of the Australian Support for Pacific HIV Action (ASPHA) initiative.

This is a new grant from the Australian Government that will see us scale up our work in the Pacific, by supporting community-based organisations to impact their local HIV responses.

We recently caught up with Joeli Colati and Rochelle Naulunimagiti from Fiji Network Plus (FJN+) in our Sydney office.

FJN+ are the network for people living with HIV in Fiji and provide critical support for the HIV-positive community. They are one of the community organisations that we will work alongside under ASPHA.

Read more about the incredible work FJN+ are doing here: https://bit.ly/4wz1xPU

Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade | Fiji Network Plus | Burnet Institute | Pacific Sexual and Gender Diversity Network - PSGDN | Fiji Women's Rights Movement | Pacific Conference of Churches | Australian High Commission, Fiji

20/08/2026

17/08/2026

FJN+ represent

17/08/2026

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09/08/2026

REFLECTIONS FROM THE FIELD | LEARNING BEYOND THE CONFERENCE 🌏❤️

One of our Fiji Network Plus Secretariat members, who attended the HIV Peer Navigation Conference in Sydney in June, shared this reflection from their time in Australia:

"I had heard so much about Stonewall on Oxford Street in Sydney, its history and its connection to the LGBTQ+ community, so when I finally had the opportunity to visit the area in June, it was meaningful to see it for myself.

What impressed me even more was not only the history of Stonewall, but what I saw around it. Close by were Sexual Health Services where people could easily access HIV testing and information about PrEP. Walking through the clubs and venues, I also noticed condom dispensers and HIV and sexual-health promotional materials placed where people could actually see and access them.

It made me reflect on how HIV prevention can be part of everyday community life rather than something hidden away. The messaging was visible, practical and placed directly in spaces where people socialise. It wasn't only about telling people to protect themselves; the tools, information and services were there to support them to do so.

Coming from Fiji and working closely with our communities, I was amazed by the level of visibility and investment in HIV prevention and awareness in Australia. It reminded me that an effective HIV response does not happen only inside hospitals and clinics. We have to take prevention, testing, condoms, PrEP and information to where people are.
Sometimes travelling gives us more than memories, it gives us ideas about what might be possible back home."

For Fiji Network Plus, opportunities such as the HIV Peer Navigation Conference are not only about attending meetings. They are about learning, observing, bringing ideas home, and asking how those lessons can strengthen Fiji’s community-led HIV response.

We learn. We share. We adapt to our Fiji context. And we continue advocating for HIV services that meet people where they are. ❤️🇫🇯

We extend our sincere vinaka vakalevu to NAPWHA (National Association of People with HIV Australia), Health Equity Matters for providing Fiji Network Plus with the opportunity to participate in the HIV Peer Navigation Conference in Sydney in June. The experience provided valuable learning, connections and exposure that continue to inspire our work back home in Fiji.