More than 120 children and adolescents under the age of 18 have been diagnosed with mental illness at St Giles Hospital over the past five years, and over 85% of them have a history of substance use, according to Dr Sheetal Singh.
Dr Singh shared the figures during the launch of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (IDADAIT) 2025 event in Suva this week, underscoring the urgent need to address mental health from as early as pregnancy.
“Mental health does not begin in school — it begins from the time of conception,” she said. “A mother’s mental and emotional environment during pregnancy plays a key role in the child’s long-term psychological well-being.”
Her comments come as recent Fiji Police stats highlight the scale of the issue. Between May 2024 and May 2025, police recorded 2,446 drug-related cases — 62% of which involved youth aged between 18 and 35. Among those apprehended were 50 juveniles, including three caught in possession of methamphetamine.
Dr Singh also pointed to a rise in drug-related health complications, with 98 HIV cases recorded at St Giles Hospital in a little over a year.
She explained that stressors such as family instability, frequent relocation, and financial hardship during pregnancy and early childhood can increase a child’s vulnerability to mental illness and, later, to substance use.
“I would like to let everyone know it starts from the time when a child is conceived in the mother’s womb. We think that it starts from kindergarten. It starts from primary school. It starts from high school. So, what determines the mental health of a person who is yet to see the world is the mental health of the mother carrying the child.”
Dr Singh urged families and communities to strengthen support for pregnant women as a long-term strategy to reduce mental illness and drug dependence among young people.
