Health, vaccinations and medical care in Zimbabwe

The part that costs people money

• Private clinics will not treat patients until they pay, and often require large amounts of cash before they will admit an emergency case, even if you have travel insurance.
• Many businesses in Zimbabwe take only US dollars in cash, and that includes some medical providers. So the practical question is not whether you are insured but whether you can put dollars on the counter tonight and reclaim them later.
• Your travel insurance needs accessible funds, and cover for treatment, evacuation and repatriation. Medical costs, particularly for evacuation, can be high.
• Call the insurer as soon as you are referred to a facility, before treatment starts.

The part that costs people time

• Dial 112 from a mobile and ask for an ambulance.
• Emergency response capabilities are limited and in many places you will need to make local arrangements for transport. That is the FCDO's own wording. In much of the country the answer to a medical emergency is a car, not an ambulance.
• The airports publish private ambulance numbers, which is a fair indication of how the system works: EMRAS and MARS at Harare, EMRAS at Victoria Falls, EMRAS and MARS at Bulawayo.

The standard of care

• Healthcare provision and quality is variable and can be very poor outside the major cities.
• There are shortages of drugs and trained medical staff, which makes some illnesses and trauma cases hard to treat at all.
• The FCDO publishes a list of medical providers in Zimbabwe where most staff speak English. Find the nearest one to where you are staying before you need it.

Before you go

• Check the vaccine recommendations at least 8 weeks ahead, and note that the FCDO flags a number of current disease outbreaks in Zimbabwe.
• There is a malaria risk in parts of the country and at certain times of year. Global Affairs Canada advises discussing antimalarials against your specific itinerary and season, ideally 6 weeks before travel.
• A yellow fever certificate is an entry requirement if you arrive from a transmission-risk country, though there is no yellow fever risk in Zimbabwe itself.
• The legal status of some medicines differs from the UK. Check anything you carry.