Sub Saharan Africa

There is a shortage of drugs and trained medical staff in hospitals, making it difficult for hospitals to treat certain illnesses including accidents and trauma cases.  Although gradually improving, the State health care system cannot always be relied upon to provide basic treatment. Standards of nursing care even in private hospitals vary.  Private clinics will not treat patients until they pay and often require large amounts of cash before they will admit even emergency cases. Even if payment is available some of the best hospitals are often too full to admit patients. Medical costs, particularly for evacuation, can be high. The shortage of fuel also has reduced emergency response capabilities.  If you are on medication, you are advised to bring sufficient supplies of your medication to cover the period of your stay.  Pharmacies may not be able to provide you with the appropriate drug prescribed by your doctor.

There are outbreaks of cholera occurring across Zimbabwe.  In addition there are sporadic outbreaks of e-coli and other diarrhoeal diseases in Harare and other areas. You should familiarise yourself with precautions to take to avoid cholera, drink or use only boiled or bottled water and avoid ice in drinks. The standard of water quality and piping is low and there are frequent and severe shortages of municipal water.  Rigorous food and hygiene measures should be observed and you should take particular care with any foods bought at the roadside or in the markets.  If you suffer from diarrhoea during or immediately following a visit to Zimbabwe you should seek immediate medical attention. Further guidance on cholera and cholera prevention can be found on the website of the National Travel Heath Network and Centre at: http://www.nathnac.org/travel/factsheets/cholera.htm.

Malaria is common to Zimbabwe, and is mostly found in low lying border areas including the Zambezi Valley, Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park in the low lying parts of the Eastern Highlands and the Vumba, around Mutare.  In 2008, a combination of extraordinary rains, leading to pools of standing water, and a drop in localised spraying programmes, resulted in a steady number of malaria cases being recorded in some of these areas. This trend has continued into 2009.

In the 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic the UNAIDS/WHO Working Group estimated that around 1,200,000 adults aged 15 or over in Zimbabwe were living with HIV; the prevalence rate was estimated at around 15.3% of the adult population. This compares to the prevalence rate in adults in the UK of around 0.2%.  You should exercise normal precautions to avoid exposure to HIV/AIDS. For more general information on how to do this see HIV and AIDS.

You should seek medical advice before travelling to Zimbabwe and ensure that all appropriate vaccinations are up-to-date.  For further information on vaccination requirements, health outbreaks and general disease protection and prevention you should visit the websites of the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) and NHS Scotland's Fit For Travel or call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.

For more general health information see Travel Health and Swine Flu pages.