Sione Fifita was among those inspired by the recent students’ dialogue led by Mark Shaheel Lal at the Fiji National University’s Pasifika Campus in Suva yesterday.

Lal, a passionate human rights advocate and founder of Living Positive Fiji, is renowned for promoting HIV awareness, equality, and inclusion across Fiji and the Pacific.

His seminar emphasised breaking the stigma surrounding HIV, championing LGBTQI+ rights, and improving mental health support and healthcare access for marginalised communities.

Fifita, originally from Tonga, shared that the session was a rare opportunity to learn about HIV in his home country, where such topics are seldom discussed.

“HIV awareness is a major need, especially as viruses spread quickly in our interconnected world,” he said.

“The seminar provided valuable insights into how HIV and STIs are transmitted and the stigma associated with them.”

The third-year MBBS student at the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences stressed the importance of creating more awareness to help people protect themselves and emphasised the need to rethink health and hygiene practices.