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Most visitors to Zimbabwe stay healthy with a few precautions: the right vaccines, malaria tablets for the low-lying safari areas, safe drinking water and good travel insurance. This guide covers health before and during your trip. For crime, laws and road safety, see our travel advice. Written by Bryan Fawcett.
Last reviewed: 21 October 2026 against the US CDC’s Zimbabwe traveller page, the UK’s TravelHealthPro (NaTHNaC) Zimbabwe page and the UK FCDO’s Zimbabwe travel advice. Health advice changes, and only a clinician can tell you what you need. See a travel clinic at least eight weeks before you go.

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Before you go

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Vaccines

The CDC and TravelHealthPro broadly agree on what travellers to Zimbabwe should consider. Your travel clinic will tailor this to your trip.
Rabies vaccine warning: Zimbabwe’s medicines regulator has reported falsified rabies vaccine circulating through unauthorised sources. If you’re bitten or scratched by an animal, wash the wound, get urgent medical care at a reputable private clinic and check the vaccine you’re given is a registered product.

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Yellow fever certificate

There is no yellow fever risk in Zimbabwe, and the CDC does not recommend the vaccine for a trip to Zimbabwe alone. You need a yellow fever certificate only if you’re aged 9 months or over and you arrive from a country with a risk of yellow fever transmission, including airport transits of more than 12 hours in such a country. Direct travel from the UK, US, Europe or South Africa doesn’t require one. Check your route against the risk list on TravelHealthPro or the CDC.

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Malaria

Malaria is a real risk in much of Zimbabwe, and it’s serious. TravelHealthPro sets out the risk by area: The CDC takes a simpler line and lists malaria risk throughout Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe also reported a large malaria outbreak in 2025.
  • Tablets: the options recommended by both the CDC and TravelHealthPro are atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline and mefloquine. Your clinic will help you choose. Some must be started days or weeks before you travel.
  • Bite avoidance: use insect repellent containing DEET, cover up from dusk, and sleep under a mosquito net or in a screened, air-conditioned room. TravelHealthPro advises avoiding insect and tick bites day and night.
  • Know the symptoms: fever, chills, headache, aches or flu-like illness. Get a malaria test urgently if you feel ill during your trip or in the months after you get home, and tell the doctor where you’ve been.

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Health risks in Zimbabwe

  • Don’t drink tap water. Use bottled, filtered or boiled water. Lodges provide safe drinking water.
  • Choose freshly cooked, hot food. Be careful with salads, ice and unpeeled fruit outside hotels and lodges.
  • Cholera outbreaks happen, mostly in poorer urban and rural areas. The CDC currently reports active transmission in Manicaland and Midlands provinces. The risk to travellers who follow food and water precautions is low.
  • Pack oral rehydration salts in case of travellers’ diarrhoea.
TravelHealthPro says there is a risk of bilharzia in Zimbabwe and that all travellers should avoid wading, swimming or bathing in fresh water. Crocodiles and hippos are another reason to stay out of rivers and lakes. Swim only in chlorinated pools, or where your lodge says it is safe. If you’ve been in fresh water, tell your doctor when you get home, because a simple test and treatment are available.
  • African tick bite fever is a risk on bush walks and in long grass. Use repellent, wear long trousers tucked into socks, and check yourself for ticks each evening.
  • Tsetse flies occur in parts of the Zambezi Valley. Their bites are painful. Repellent and light-coloured clothing help.
  • Dengue is considered by TravelHealthPro for some travellers. Day-biting mosquitoes spread it, so use repellent in the daytime too.
  • October and November are very hot, with highs of 33–35°C in the low-lying parks. See weather by month.
  • Use high-factor sunscreen, wear a hat, drink plenty of water and rest in the hottest part of the day.
  • Heat exhaustion causes heavy sweating, weakness and nausea. Heatstroke (hot, dry skin, confusion) is a medical emergency.
  • Zimbabwe’s parks are unfenced, and animal attacks have injured and killed visitors. Follow your guide’s instructions, stay in the vehicle unless told otherwise, and don’t walk around camps at night without an escort.
  • Avoid contact with dogs, cats, monkeys and bats because of rabies.
  • Snakes and scorpions are present but rarely seen. Wear closed shoes and use a torch at night.

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Medical care

The UK FCDO says healthcare in Zimbabwe is variable and can be very poor outside the major cities, with shortages of medicines and trained staff in hospitals.
  • Private clinics and hospitals in Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls handle routine care and emergencies. Complex cases are usually flown to South Africa.
  • Pay first: the FCDO warns that private clinics won’t treat patients until they pay and often want large amounts of cash before admitting emergency cases, even if you have insurance. Carry a credit card and access to emergency funds, and call your insurer’s assistance line as soon as you can.
  • Remote areas: safari lodges have first-aid trained staff, and many subscribe to a medical air rescue service. Serious cases need evacuation by air.
  • Medicines: bring enough for your whole trip, in original packaging with a copy of your prescription. Some medicines are restricted; the US advisory notes that oxycodone is banned even with a prescription.
  • The FCDO keeps a list of medical providers in Zimbabwe where most staff speak English.
Travel insurance with medical evacuation cover is essential. See our travel insurance guide.

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Emergency numbers

These match our travel advice page. Public emergency services are limited, so your lodge, operator or a private medical rescue service will usually reach you faster.
  • MARS (Medical Air Rescue Service): 24 hours on +263 242 771 221, or 182 toll-free from Econet.
  • ACE Air & Ambulance: dial 464, or +263 782 999 901.
Check which rescue service your lodge or insurer uses and save the number before you travel. For embassies, see embassies and consulates, and for more numbers see emergency contacts.

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Your health kit

  • Prescription medicines, antimalarials and copies of prescriptions
  • Insect repellent containing DEET, and after-bite cream
  • High-factor sunscreen and lip balm
  • Oral rehydration salts and anti-diarrhoea tablets
  • Painkillers, antihistamines, plasters, antiseptic and blister plasters
  • Hand sanitiser
  • A digital thermometer

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Travellers with particular needs

  • Pregnant travellers: malaria is especially dangerous in pregnancy. Speak to your doctor before booking a trip to a malaria area.
  • Children: some antimalarials aren’t suitable for young children; doxycycline isn’t suitable for under-12s. Many families choose lower-risk areas or the dry season. See family travel.
  • Long-term conditions: carry a doctor’s letter and spare medication, and declare your condition to your insurer.
  • LGBTQ+ travellers: see LGBTQ+ travel. Travellers with disabilities: see our accessibility guide.
Photograph your prescriptions, insurance policy and emergency numbers, and share them with a travel companion. They’re invaluable if you’re unwell.

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Sources

Last modified on October 21, 2026