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Sao Tome and Principe International Health Insurance / Healthcare System
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 The Republic
of Sao Tome and Principe, more commonly known as Sao Tome and
Principe, is located in Eastern Europe.
The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe is a tiny
volcanic island nation off the Atlantic coast of central Africa,
lying just off Equatorial Guinea. The former Portuguese colony was
uninhabited before being discovered by European explorers around
1470. Originally a sugar producing colony, competition from the
New World drove a shift to coffee and cocoa production. A
burgeoning independence movement began to agitate for Santomean
independence in the 1950s and 1960s; these efforts bore fruit
after the fall of the Portuguese dictatorship in 1974, and an
independent republic was declared in 1975. However, intermittent
political instability has followed, most recently in an attempted
coup d’etat in 2009. Lying on the equator, Sao Tome’s climate is
consistently hot, humid and tropical, with scenic beaches and lush
rain forests. Currently classified as a highly indebted poor
country (HIPC) by the IMF, Sao Tome’s economy had been limited to
agriculture, fishing and limited industry and trade with Portugal.
However, recent plans for exploration of offshore oil could lead
to considerable windfall for the poor island nation.
Like many poor sub Saharan African countries, São Tomé and
Príncipe suffers from low life expectancy: 60 years for males and
63 for females. This can been attributed to its poverty and
limited health care infrastructure.
Total annual health expenditure per capita is USD141, which
represents a doubling of spending since 2000 and makes up a
significant proportion of GDP at 10.5 percent. Government
expenditure makes up about 41 percent of overall health spending.
Among private health care spending, nearly 70 percent comes from
out of pocket expenditure, and there is no locally-based
infrastructure for private health insurance; non-profit
organisations and NGOs make up the remainder of non-governmental
health spending in São Tomé and Príncipe.
However, despite São Tomé and Príncipe’s economic disadvantages,
unlike its regional neighbors, rates of infectious disease are
relatively low. For example there were 162 cases of tuberculosis
per 100,000 people in 2009, about 20 percent lower than the global
norm. Although HIV and malaria are also health problems in São
Tomé and Príncipe, infection rates are similarly low, relative to
regional norms.
Santomean utilization of health care services far exceeds regional
norms. Skilled health care professionals are involved in prenatal,
birth and antenatal care in 70 – 90 percent of cases, compared
with 44 to 69 percent in the rest of Africa. Although São Tomé and
Príncipe’s skilled healthcare workforce is proportionally greater
than the African average, it is still woefully understaffed, with
only 4.9 physicians and 18.7 nurses and midwives per 10,000
population.
About 90 percent of Santomeans have access to improved drinking
water, representing steady improvement in clean water distribution
over the past two decades. However, sanitation levels remain very
low, with improved facilities available to only about 30 percent
of the population. Travellers are advised to carry alcohol-based
hand sanitiser and disinfectant wipes for safety and comfort.
Although São Tomé and Príncipe is not on most tourist routes, it
does possess attractive beaches, lush jungles and rich history.
Still, travelers should be prepared for the risks involved in
visiting Sao Tome. The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) has
recently issued guidelines for reducing the risk of dengue fever,
and has issued an outbreak notice for São Tomé and Príncipe. Like
malaria, dengue is transmitted through mosquito bites. Travelers
should use insect repellent with DEET, mosquito netting and
long-sleeved clothing whenever possible, particularly at dawn and
dusk when mosquitoes are most active. There is no vaccine to cure
dengue; victims can only relieve symptoms with painkiller and
rehydration. The CDC also recommends visiting a travel health
specialist four to six weeks before travel to update routine
immunizations. São Tomé and Príncipe is also host to a number of
serious diseases such as African sleeping sickness, river
blindness and parasitic infections like schistosomiasis.
As with any travel destination, gastrointestinal discomfort is the
number one medical complaint. Avoiding raw or undercooked foods
and drinking only bottled water is recommended. Travelers should
bring iodine water purification pills and over the counter anti
diarrheal medication as a precautionary measure. A cholera
outbreak in 2005 led to nearly 2000 cases of the disease, or
nearly 1 percent of the population of São Tomé and Príncipe.
Often, travelers neglect basic universal safety measures which
should be universally applied. Wearing a safety belt, avoiding
alcohol while driving and observing local traffic laws; protecting
one’s skin from tropical sun; and wearing latex condoms during
risky sexual intercourse are important in São Tomé and Príncipe
just like anywhere else.
São Tomé and Príncipe is an extremely poor and isolated country,
and health care resources are very limited, with the Ayres Menezes
Hospital on Sao Tome being the only fully equipped medical
facility within the country. For serious medical emergencies,
evacuation by airlift is required, either to the African mainland
or Europe. Expatriates and travelers in the country are strongly
advised to purchase comprehensive international health insurance
prior to arrival in San Tome and Principe. Any coverage should
provide an emergency evacuation benefit, and it is critical that
insurance and other arrangements are planned ahead of time to
handle these serious contingencies.
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Sao Tome and Principe International Health Insurance |
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If you do plan a visit to central Africa and Sao Tome and Principe
is part of your itinerary, Globalsurance has a global team of
advisors to provide in-depth consultations to assist with your
international travel health insurance needs. Globalsurance’s
dedicated teams worldwide can provide detailed options and are
available 24 hours a day. We offer policies for individual
travelers, families and tour groups covering a full range of
medical services including: dental, maternity, specialist
consultation, transportation, inpatient services and more. Please
don’t hesitate to contact a Globalsurance representative today for
further expatriate health insurance details.
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