Rainbow Pride Foundation 4 LGBTQ Rights and Equality in Fiji

02/09/2026

Another day of outreach at The Hibiscus Festival

01/09/2026

Condom save lives.

01/09/2026

This isn’t about promoting injecting drug. This is about doing something now while waiting for the bigger intervention by the Government of Fiji.

01/09/2026

“Police and Communities Talanoa: Strengthening Fiji’s HIV Response Together”

Ahead of the Pacific HIV Symposium in Nadi, an important first step was taken on the evening of 16 August 2026 at Nalagi Hotel, with the first dedicated dialogue bringing together the Fiji Police Force Community Policing team, and civil society organisations, representing communities with diverse SOGIESC to discuss their respective roles within Fiji’s HIV response.

The consultation created an opportunity for participants to speak openly about community experiences, barriers that can affect trust between communities and police, and how policing and community-led organisations can work together to make HIV prevention, outreach, testing and referrals safer and more effective.

Importantly, this was not a conversation about blame. The talanoa encouraged participants to peak from experience, listen to understand, respect different perspectives, protect confidentiality and ensure that every voice was heard.

For CSOs representing people of diverse s*xual orientation, gender identity and expression, and s*x characteristics (SOGIESC), it was an important opportunity to share lived and community experiences of navigating both health and policing systems. Equally important was the opportunity to hear directly from Community Policing and better understand how our respective roles in public health, community safety and HIV prevention can complement each other.

The discussion also explored practical ways of improving communication and referrals between police, health services and CSOs; strengthening the safety of community outreach workers and community members; and identifying ways to sustain police–community engagement beyond this first meeting.

This first consultation represents an important starting point. An effective HIV response requires more than health services alone. Trust, communication and collaboration between communities, CSOs, health services and law enforcement can contribute to an environment where people feel safer accessing HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care.

The hope is that the 16 August talanoa will not be a one-off discussion, but the beginning of continued engagement and stronger collaboration between Community Policing and community-led HIV responses in Fiji.

From experience → to understanding → to practical action.


Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Health Equity Matters Burnet Institute Pacific Sexual and Gender Diversity Network - PSGDN Medical Services Pacific Ministry of Health & Medical Services - Fiji Fiji Police Force Fiji Network Plus Strumphet Alliance Network,Fiji Trans Affirmative Action Guild - TAAG SAN Survival Advocacy Network Disability Pride Hub Rainbow Pride Foundation 4 LGBTQ Rights and Equality in Fiji House of Colours - Fiji PRAN-Pacific Rainbows Advocacy Network DAULOMANI SAFE HOME Sāmoa Fa'afāfine Association Incorporated Leitis Association ARUKA Fiji

01/09/2026

Community outreach in Fiji’s HIV response has evolved beyond simply providing information and distributing condoms.

RPF Interim CEO Asaeli Sinusetaki says CSOs have an important advocacy role, but today’s community-led outreach is also about building trust, encouraging HIV testing, linking people to treatment and care, supporting retention, and reaching communities that may face barriers to mainstream health services.

This is also why CSOs continue to advocate for harm reduction measures such as Needle and Syringe Programmes (NSPs).

“Government must work through the necessary legal and policy processes, but while these take time, the risk of HIV transmission through shared injecting equipment continues.”

NSPs do not promote injecting drug use. They aim to reduce HIV and other blood-borne infections among people who are already injecting drugs, while broader prevention, treatment and adequately resourced rehabilitation services are strengthened.

Harm reduction is not about encouraging drug use. It is about reducing preventable harm and saving lives

31/08/2026

THE REFERRAL CARDS

When Peer Outreach Workers ( ) go into the field, one of their key objectives is to connect the people they reach with HIV testing services. Depending on the information and support provided, POWs encourage and refer clients to clinics for testing.

When a client is unable to visit the clinic immediately—because they are busy, the clinic is closed, or the clinic is too far away—the POW provides them with a referral card. The client then presents this card when they eventually visit the clinic.

At the end of each month, the Divisional Coordinator collects these referral cards from the clinics. This allows us to track whether community outreach is actually translating into people accessing testing services.

Based on our preliminary data, between 1 December 2025 and 31 July 2026, more than 8,000 people reached through our outreach were successfully referred and connected to clinics for testing.

This is one way we measure whether outreach is creating a real connection between communities and health services.

Pictured below are referral cards collected from Medical Services Pacific for the month of August.

31/08/2026

Like last year’s The Hibiscus Festival Peer Outreach Workers will once again be conducting outreach throughout the festival, helping members of the public access services by Medical Services Pacific at the festival grounds.

Look out for the t-shirts if you need assistance, information, or help accessing services.

Rainbow Pride Foundation 4 LGBTQ Rights and Equality in Fiji Strumphet Alliance Network,Fiji Fiji Network Plus and SAN Survival Advocacy Network continue to acknowledge the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the support.

26/08/2026

Peer Outreach Workers from Rainbow Pride Foundation 4 LGBTQ Rights and Equality in Fiji, Strumphet Alliance Network,Fiji, Fiji Network Plus and SAN Survival Advocacy Network were privileged to join Medical Services Pacific and the team of Community Policing of the Fiji Police Force on this initiative.

At the we also had the opportunity to have a close up session with the team from the Community Policing to discuss ways of working together. We hope to bring into this collaboration other CSOs who are willing to be part of the community-led prevention work.

Medical Services Pacific and the Fiji Police Force uncovered 17 new HIV cases after testing 91 street dwellers in Suva over two nights. The "Moonlight Program" […]

25/08/2026

Yesterday, the Fiji Sun reported an article in which nightclub operators disputed the idea that nightclubs themselves should be identified as a driver of Fiji’s rising HIV cases.

The question we should be asking is not whether nightclubs are “causing” HIV, but “How we can work together to make nightlife environments safer and reduce the risks and circumstances that can contribute to HIV transmission?”

For almost a year now, a number of dedicated volunteers have been working behind the scenes to replenish condoms in dispensers installed across around 13 nightclubs in Suva. These dispensers were installed through a project funded by UNFPA Pacific and the Ministry of Health & Medical Services - Fiji.

Many of these volunteers are also Peer Outreach Workers, are part of the Community-led HIV Response Project and are funded by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with support from Health Equity Matters. These POWs have found ways to integrate condom replenishment into their existing outreach work. They continue to ensure that condoms and lubricants remain available where people socialise and where they are needed.

In the Western Division, Peer Outreach Workers have also developed their own approach, using boxes to replenish condoms in nightclubs like Riverside in Sigatoka; Bar One, Havana and Ed’s Bar in Nadi; Bar One in Lautoka; and Rashiana in Rakiraki.

In Labasa, the Peer Outreach Workers replenish condoms at Revolver and Underground Nightclubs.

This is what partnership looks like. Nightclubs do not have to be viewed as the problem—they can be part of the solution.

We acknowledge and appreciate all the nightclub owners who have opened their doors to these initiatives and recognised the importance of being part of the collective response to HIV.

If we are serious about reducing HIV transmission, we need to meet people where they are, work with the places they go, and make prevention accessible—not simply point fingers.