Health, vaccinations and medical care in Rwanda

Malaria

• Malaria is a risk throughout Rwanda, and antimalarial medication is recommended for most travellers.
• Start the conversation about six weeks before you fly, because some regimes begin before departure.
• Symptoms up to a year after you get home still mean malaria until a doctor says otherwise. Tell them where you have been.

Other mosquito-borne illness

• Dengue occurs sporadically and chikungunya is present. Both bite in the daytime.
• Bite avoidance covers all three at once: repellent, covered arms at dawn and dusk, a net or screens at night.

Medical care

• Public medical facilities in Kigali are adequate for routine procedures.
• Access to health care is limited outside Kigali, which matters if your trip is mostly in the parks.
• Insurance must cover medical evacuation, because a serious case leaves the country.
• Check whether it covers motorbike taxis, which is the single most likely way to need it.

Yellow fever and hygiene

• A yellow fever certificate is required from listed risk countries.
• Typhoid is present at low risk, through food and water.