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Health Tips

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Tip: It is essential to take out travel health insurance. It costs just a few euros a year and provides comprehensive cover.

In Uganda, you will find a pharmacy in all larger towns. However, the range is not as extensive, so you should bring an adequate supply of any medication you take regularly.

Also important: Note down the active ingredients of your medication, as the product names in Uganda may be different. Unlike in Germany, for example, you can also obtain prescription-only medicines without a doctor’s form.

Medical care is only good in Kampala. In addition to Uganda’s largest hospital, Mulago Hospital, there are some private doctors and smaller clinics. The further you get from the capital, the weaker the medical care. Provincial hospitals and smaller medical stations provide medical care here.

Important: Medical services and medicines must generally be paid for in cash. With health insurance, you will be reimbursed for your expenses.

Vaccinations

Travelling to a tropical country like Uganda means that you may come into contact with pathogens that do not exist in the Western world. Therefore, it is best to seek advice from a tropical medicine specialist 6 months in advance. You can find current information on the health situation in Uganda on the internet (see below). Before travelling, please also check the current advice from the Foreign Office and the WHO – including on Ebola and Mpox (the 2026 Ebola outbreak was declared over in late August 2026).

Yellow fever vaccination has no longer been mandatory for entry to Uganda since late August 2026, but is still strongly recommended by tropical medicine specialists. Other recommended vaccinations are hepatitis A and a polio booster; hepatitis B, meningococcal ACWY, rabies and typhoid may be added depending on your itinerary after medical advice.

The malaria risk in Uganda is classified as very high in all parts of the country and at all times of the year. The best protection: mosquito nets at night, long clothing in the evening and insect repellent applied to the skin. In all parts of the country, in addition to mosquito protection, drug-based malaria prophylaxis is recommended (e.g. atovaquone/proguanil or doxycycline); seek medical advice on this.

Further links

Drinking water in Uganda

Logo of Rwenzori Beverage Co Ltd.The water quality in Uganda is quite good, although not comparable to the highest quality in Germany. In my own experience, normal use of tap water for showering is unproblematic; however, for drinking and brushing your teeth, you should – as in most tropical countries – use bottled or boiled water. Bottled drinking water is available everywhere in Uganda and is of excellent quality.

Very widespread is the water of “Rwenzori Beverage Company Ltd.” In literally every small shop, you can buy this water by the crate for very little money. The Rwenzori Beverage Company is one of the most well-known drinking water brands in Uganda.

Snakes

As an Africa traveller, you are repeatedly asked about possible dangers from snakes. Contrary to popular belief, these do not pose a safety risk. They do exist, and even a few venomous ones (black mamba, puff adder, spitting cobra). But most snakes in Uganda are completely harmless. Above all, snakes are one thing: namely very, very shy. . You would therefore have to be extremely lucky to even catch sight of a snake.

Since most tourists spend the night in hotels and lodges, the other “uninvited guests” are also more of a marginal problem. If you sleep in a tent – which goes without saying – then of course you need to be a little more careful.

Further links