Zambia Expat Health Insurance
The Republic of Zambia, commonly referred to as Zambia, is a land locked country located in the Southern part of Africa. Zambia shares its borders with Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Malawi. The country has approximately 13.8 million residents whose official language is English which is used to conduct business and to teach in schools. Zambians also speak over 70 regional Bantu based languages. The capital city of Lusaka is home to a large proportion of Zambia’s population who predominantly live in urban areas along major transport corridors.
Zambia is a former British colony previously known as Northern Rhodesia. It gained independence from the British in 1964 and then subsequently changed its name. The name Zambia is taken from the Zambezi River (meaning Gods River) which flows through the country. The country’s third president Levy Mwanawasa helped the country by initiating a campaign to rid Zambia of corruption and increase living standards. In 2010 the World Bank named Zambia one of the world’s fastest economically reforming countries.
Zambia has a tropical climate with a rainy season from November to April each year. The dry season from May to October is divided into the cool dry season from May to August and the hot dry season from September to October. The cool dry season is the best time of year to pay a visit to Zambia as the temperature ranges from 24 – 28 degrees celsius during the day and drops at night. Zambia’s terrain consists of high plateaus, river valleys and some mountains. The country has two major rivers, the Zambezi which covers three quarters of the country and the Congo which covers approximately one quarter of Zambia. The Zambezi River is home to the magnificent Victoria Falls. The Victoria Falls are waterfalls which were named by David Livingstone in 1855 after Queen Victoria, the Queen of England.
Zambia is a beautiful country to visit due to its waterfalls, wildlife, safaris, game parks and native parks. It offers some of the world’s best wildlife safaris with competent guides. Though visually stunning, Zambia is an extremely poor country with approximately 64 percent of Zambians living below the World Bank poverty line. Zambians also have a low life expectancy rate of approximately 49 years for men and 50 years for women at birth.
The Zambian economy was historically based on copper mining. The amount of copper mined fall to all time lows in the 1990’s but has rebounded back with increased production and revenues. Agriculture also plays a key part in the economy accounting for approximately 38 percent of exports in 2003. Zambia produces crops, cattle, pork, chicken, eggs, dairy products, leather, fish and cooking oil.
Zambia Health Care and Insurance
The Government run medical facilities in Zambia are underdeveloped and lack supplies. Only in Lusaka, Ndola and Livingstone can travellers find facilities that resemble western standards. Lusaka is home to a number of small medical clinics which are better equipped than the general hospitals. The clinics in the rural areas are extremely basic and only offer such treatment as aspirin and band aids. Zambia also has a shortage of Doctors and nurses even though it offers free medical care to its residents. In 2006 Zambia had one Doctor for every 14,000 people, compared with one Doctor for every 600 people in the United Kingdom.
The Ministry of Health is responsible for the medical facilities in Zambia. In 2004 the Zambian Government spent 3.4 percent of GDP on heath care. HIV/Aids is prevalent in Zambia with approximately 10 percent of the population having the disease. Travellers to Zambia should take precautions to ensure that they do not contract the HIV/Aids. Cholera outbreaks occur in Zambia in the rainy season and therefore travellers should only consume clean food and water.
Zambia also has privately run medical facilities which provide reasonable care. In the event of a major medical emergency, travellers may need to be medically evacuated to nearby South Africa, Europe or the United States for treatment. Medical evacuation is expensive and should be included in travel insurance for Zambia.
Social insurance initiatives including health insurance exist in Zambia but have limited membership. In 2010 the United States pledged US $90 million to Zambia to strength the country’s healthcare system by training more staff and delivering high quality medical care.
If you are travelling in Zambia and require medical treatment some of the better medical facilities include, Corpmed Medical Centre (telephone 260 211 222 612) in the capital city of Lusaka. This facility has a 24 hour emergency department and is staffed with American, European and Zambian Doctors. It offers general medicine, minor surgeries, laboratory facilities, a pharmacy, radiology and direct billing (being the insurer pays the hospital directly for the cost of treatment) with many international insurance companies.
Victoria Hospital (telephone: 260 211 255 788) a private hospital which opened in 2004 is also located in Lusaka and has a 30 bed hospital offering a high standard of care to patients. The hospital offers 24 hour care, Doctors visits, radiology, dental and ambulance services. In early 2011 another private hospital opened in Lusaka called Fairview Hospital (telephone: 260 211 373 000) which is owned by Medicare International Limited. This facility offers general health care, intensive care, radiology and a laboratory. It also has a direct billing arrangement with many medical insurers.
Zambia Travel Advice
Travellers to Zambia are advised to ensure that their childhood vaccinations are kept up to date, including vaccinations against measles/mumps/rubella (MMR), diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus and polio. Zambia had measles outbreaks in April 2010 and May 2011 so it is vital that traveller’s measles boosters are up to date.
Visitors should also have vaccinations against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and typhoid. Travellers should take anti malaria tablets as they are at risk of contracting malaria in low lying areas (where many of the good wildlife destinations are located) and have rabies vaccinations if they plan on spending a lot of time outdoors and in the rural areas of Zambia. Travellers should ensure that they cover themselves with clothing and use insect repellent with DEET to prevent insect bites which spread disease. A yellow fever vaccination certificate is mandatory if you are travelling to Zambia from a country that is infected with yellow fever.
Travellers who require assistance in Zambia should telephone 999 in an emergency, 991 for police, 991 for ambulance and 993 for the fire brigade. Zambia has a comprehensive 24 hour medical evacuation service in the event of an emergency called Specialty Emergency Services which offers an advanced life support ambulance and evacuation services in Zambia. Expat health insurance or comprehensive travel health insurance that includes coverage for emergency evacuation is immensely important for visitors or foreign residents in Zambia, as such procedures can be extraordinarily expensive.
Zambia is a more expensive country to visit then its other developing African neighbours. Travel is expensive due to the great distances that must be travelled and often things are as expensive as they would be in a western country. Zambian people are friendly, however travellers should be careful walking alone at night as the street lights are dime, the locals are poor and armed robberies do occur. Women should not visit bars alone and should be watch their drinks carefully as people have attempted to use date rape drugs on women. Visitors should be aware that there is a 10pm curfew through most of the country as they may be arrested if found on the street.
In Zambia possession of more than half a gram of an illegal substance can constitute drug trafficking. The Zambian Drug Enforcement Commission has detained a number of tourists for possession of antihistamines and other over the counter medications which contain diphenhydramine, an active ingredient that is on Zambia’s list of controlled substances. These tourists were charged with drug trafficking and were jailed. Travellers visiting Zambia should consider leaving such medications behind. Visitors bringing prescription medications into Zambia should carry a Doctor’s prescription with them and keep the medication in its original counter.
Zambia Expat Health Insurance
As medical facilities in Zambia are very limited and typically only available in the main urban centres, we advise that for visitors to Zambia, expat health insurance or comprehensive travel health insurance be taken out, and that it should include cover for emergency medical evacuations. Medical evacuation is expensive and by purchasing expat health or travel insurance which covers it, you can rest assured that you and your family will receive the best medical care, should you require it while in Zambia. Expat health insurance policies can often include optional coverage packages for maternity, dental and specialist care. At Global Health Insurance we can provide you with medical insurance for Zambia that meets all budgets and provides full cover. Please contact us today for a no obligation free quotation from the world’s most experienced medical insurance providers.
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