HEALTH authorities in French Polynesia are sounding the alarm after seven new HIV cases were detected in the first three months of 2026. While the territory used to record about 12 new infections per year on average, that number has more than doubled since 2024, now sitting at 26 annual cases. The fact that these are local transmissions proves the virus is actively circulating.
In response, the Health Directorate is launching a prevention campaign that includes installing free condom dispensers in strategic locations across Tahiti and the outer islands. Officials want the dispensers to be discreet and non-discriminatory, available to anyone regardless of age or social background. The disease affects everyone from teenagers—the youngest person diagnosed is just 14—to elders, with one patient currently 78 years old.
The big concern is next year’s Pacific Games, hosted in French Polynesia in 2027. With neighbours like Fiji facing an unprecedented HIV epidemic, authorities fear the event could trigger a local surge in cases. They want to “avoid a catastrophe” by acting now. Other STIs like syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhoea are also on the rise.
One major challenge is contact tracing. Many sexual encounters now happen through dating apps and social networks, where people use fake names or avatars. Nurses say when a patient tests positive, it’s often impossible to identify or notify past partners. That makes the virus much harder to contain.
There’s also been a drop in condom use, and a lack of public awareness about transmission methods, including through blood. While intravenous drug use and practices like “bluetoothing” (sharing blood mixed with methamphetamine) have fuelled HIV spikes in Fiji, officials say most local transmission remains sexual–but warn that could change.
Source: Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes
