While planning your safari in East Africa, you might worry about having a medical emergency in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, the AMREF Flying Doctors are here to save the day, as they offer a flying ambulance service with doctors and pilots on standby 24 hours a day in the whole of East Africa. For 40 USD per person for 30 days, you can travel worry-free to any remote area in one or more of the following countries: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.
Stepped on a snake?
In a medical emergency, Flying Doctors can give professional advice or immediately evacuate you to a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. If, for example, through some bad luck you step on a snake in Kenya’s Masai Mara, you are just a phone call away from professional advice that might allow you to continue your journey.
And if, by some freak accident, you badly break your leg while getting on a boat in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park, or a pre-existing medical condition suddenly causes trouble in the middle of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park (knock on wood!), in no time a flight with a whole team of medical professionals can be waiting for you at the nearest airstrip. The team then takes you straight to the hospital in Nairobi, where further help will be available.
Some limitations
Mind you, Flying Doctors always assesses what help is needed and only covers the emergency assistance and transport. Costs for a visa (when coming from outside of Kenya and being flown to Nairobi), and costs for the hospital and your treatment are on you. It doesn’t replace the need for health and/ or travel insurance. AMREF Flying Doctors can help smoothen the process for the visa, however, making sure you reach the hospital in time.
People doing mountain climbs need to be aware that the Flying Doctors Insurance does not cover mountain evacuations. Therefore, please make sure that your travel insurance covers this type of evacuation.
Peace of mind
Your safety is our priority, which is why we gladly help you subscribe to the Flying Doctors Insurance. During the safari, we do our utmost best to make sure everything goes well and 99 per cent of the time, our clients come back having had the best time of their life.
But it’s always good to realize you are travelling to a place of untamed nature, where wild animals rule and unexpected things happen. Flying Doctors have been flying since 1957 for that reason, allowing safari lovers to travel with complete peace of mind. Because we all like a bit of adventure – but not too much!
We require our clients to have proper travel insurance. Travel insurance covers not only medical expenses, but also damage to or loss of luggage, among other things.
It is advisable to sign up for a cancellation insurance. In some cases, only a certain amount is refunded in case of cancellation for long trips. Please check this with your insurer to make sure you are properly insured.