Drugs crisis now a public health emergency: PS Kuruleca

Illicit drug use is no longer just a law enforcement issue but a full-scale public health and social emergency, the Government has warned.

Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection acting Permanent Secretary Selina Kuruleca delivered the warning at the National Talanoa Session on Responding to Illicit Drugs in Fiji yesterday, outlining what she described as a deepening social crisis.

“We cannot talk about drugs without talking about other social issues,” she said, linking the epidemic to poverty, trauma, unemployment, unsafe homes and intergenerational violence.

Between May 23 and June 5 last year, Police recorded 2400 drug related cases involving individuals aged 18 to 85. More than 300 were domestic violence-related cases. In the first half of 2025, new HIV infections surged to 1226, many linked to drug use.

For every teenager who turns to methamphetamine, she said, the system has failed at home, in school and within the community.

“Vulnerability remains the biggest gateway to drug abuse,” Ms Kuruleca warned.

She called for a shift from reactive enforcement to prevention, rehabilitation and community empowerment.

“At least five or 10 children outside right now are injected. What are we doing about that.”

Ms Kuruleca said the crisis demanded immediate action, not more talk.