Apenisa Waqairadovu 
UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador for the Pacific Region and former President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau says Fiji needs to strengthen its efforts in combating HIV/AIDS.
Ratu Epeli made the comment while speaking at the Global AIDS Monitoring and HIV Estimates Workshop at Radisson Blu Resort in Nadi.
The long-time supporter of ending HIV/AIDS says ending HIV/AIDS is more than a strategy.
Meanwhile, it was also highlighted at the conference that iTaukei tops the 2024 Ethnicity Distribution of People Living With HIV with 89 percent, while Fijians of Indian descent sit at nine percent and other ethnicities sit at two percent.
WHO Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights Officer Joeli Colati presented these statistics.
He also highlighted that the statistics varied drastically as the iTaukei were forthcoming for HIV testing in healthcare facilities while other ethnicities normally access private doctors for HIV testing but their results are not shared.
The rights to discretion as stipulated in HIV Act 2011 Section Part 4 Subsection 32 was also stressed during the workshop.
