Safe for a 3 months old baby ?

Hi there,

we came here as our daughter was 1. absolutely no problems... talk to your doc and make sure he does a through check and give you a list of important stuff.

When you are here, get a WARA (West African Rescue Association) membership, it is a rescue service with very good medical services as well as doctors who are extremely capable, costs 40 euros a month for a whole family. if anything really bad should occur, they even have a helicopter and they can also get you back to your country with a medical plane. they deal with all details. having said that, make sure you have an insurance back home that will cover all these costs, WARA also helps with dealing with the claim forms.

when you talk to your doctor, let him give you a list of medicines that you can take with you for you and your child. we did that, took a bag full of meds, feels better to be prepared.

apart from that, no worries. absolutely no problems. it is safe.

PM me for more information (or my experience).

and don't forget the routine vaccinations a baby may only get yellow fever injection when it is at least one year old. don't let anyone tell you something else (info based on multiple consultations with multiple doctors including institute for tropical climates).

one thing many people exaggerate is malaria. be careful.

wherever you go, malaria is a reality and can happen anytime BUT it is an easily cured illness. don't overload yourself with Prophylaxe.  A baby can not take it anyway and for adults over an extended duration of time, it just will harm you. Stay away from the so called weekly tablets, they cause hallucinations. Generally stay away from them if you will be around for long time.

Just be careful, read the symptoms well, get some instant malaria tests (they can only detect two variations) and when in doubt go to a hospital and do a blood test. that's it. Antibiotics easily cure it when detected in time.

Take your time and explore the neighbourhood, find the nearest best hospital or health center. Make sure you know the way well. and always keep the emergency number of WARA in your wallet as well as on your cellphone.

If you are going to use the tap water for cooking, make sure it boils! Generally there isn't a big problem with tap water but just don't drink it, better be prepared than sorry

One thing about sweet water poodles, lakes etc. Don't swim in them! Worms. Avoid contact with any collected sweet water anywhere.

Sounds bad but it isn't. It is gonna be a good experience

Last but not least, Akwaaba!

Any questions? Feel free to ask!

metecem
based in Accra.


EDIT:
- I don't know Tarkwa but the suggestion is always to go to the local police station with your passport and copies of it and ask them to stamp the copies and carry these with you on in the car instead of the real one.

- Get in touch with your embassy and inform them about your arrival.

- If you are going to drive yourself, bring your own vehicle which is in good condition, preferably an off-road one. there aren't many tarred roads and you will be glad you have a car that doesn't need to be repaired every month.

- Be skeptical at all times! especially in the beginning. "Friends" are plenty, not all are real.