South Africa

South Africa is a diverse country known for its sometimes difficult history, as well as its rich culture and pleasant climate.

Security is a fairly considerable concern in South Africa. Institutions, including those responsible for law and order are fairly well-developed but there are capability gaps and a lack of resources in many cases.

The crime rate is high, with widespread associated violence. Gun ownership levels are moderately high by global standards. The murder rate is one of the highest in the world. Kidnap for ransom is also an occasional concern.

Elements of society have notable grievances, particularly related to issues such as wealth inequality and poor provision of services. This leads to sporadic incidents of disquiet. Protests and demonstrations are frequent and often disruptive with sporadic violence. Casualties are often limited, but there have been a number of cases when situations have escalated into bloodshed.

Terrorism poses a low level of risk but threats and terrorist activity have nonetheless been detected in recent years.

Plug type C (2 round pins, not grounded/earthed)

Plug type D (3 round pins, top pin is larger than the others, grounded/earthed, socket compatible with plug type C, unsafe socket compatibility with plug types E and F)

Plug type M (3 round pins, top pin is larger than the others, grounded/earthed)

Plug type N (3 round pins, grounded/earthed, socket compatible with plug type C)

Vaccinations

Travellers should consult a medical practitioner prior to their trip but the following vaccines may be considered before travelling to the country, depending on factors such as specific destination, planned activities, intended time and length of stay as well as personal medical conditions (in some cases no additional vaccines may be required at all):

• Cholera (usually only recommended for aid workers or those spending time in at-risk areas)
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B (not always needed)
• Rabies (usually only for long-term stays, or for those spending time in isolated areas or coming into contact with animals)
• Typhoid
• Standard vaccinations (ie those commonly used in the developed world, such as diphtheria, measles, mumps, polio, rubella, tuberculosis and tetanus)

Disease presence

Malaria risk: low
Yellow fever presence: no
Dengue fever prevalence: rare/non-existent
Rabies prevalence: high risk
HIV prevalence in society: among the very worst in the world
Hepatitis A prevalence: high
Hepatitis B prevalence: high
Hepatitis E prevalence: not highly endemic
Cholera status: periodic outbreaks in some areas
Chikungunya virus presence: present
Zika virus presence: not recently reported
Japanese encephalitis presence: no
Cutaneous leishmaniasis presence: some reported cases
Visceral leishmaniasis presence: non-endemic
Onchocerciasis presence: non-endemic
Schistosomiasis presence: moderate
Tick-borne encephalitis status: low/non-existent risk
Chagas disease presence: none
Typhoid fever presence: endemic
African trypanosomiasis presence: none
Plague status: present
Rift Valley fever status: endemic
Lassa fever status: not present
Polio status: not endemic
Ebola outbreaks: yes
Meningococcal meningitis hotspot: no

• The following advice has been compiled by travel safety specialists and ex-special forces personnel.
• However, please note that it is of a general nature only and may not reflect the reality of your circumstances.
• Ensure you have proper insurance cover in place.
• Select good quality accommodation and properly prepare for any tasks, excursions or other activities you have to undertake.
• Be mindful of local laws and cultural norms, bearing in mind that they might be different to what you are accustomed to.
• Consider conducting or obtaining a risk assessment specific to you, your profile and your trip, task or operation.
• This should take into account the likelihood of potential risks affecting you, as well as the likely impact they will have, and will help you decide, depending on your risk appetite and implementable risk mitigation measures, whether or not you should proceed.

Road traffic accident

• Be aware of local driving conditions and hazards.
• Drive defensively and adhere to speed limits to minimise the risk of being caught up in an accident, or request that your driver(s) do the same.
• If using a taxi or local driver, ensure that they are qualified and competent and that their vehicle appears well maintained.
• Ensure that vehicles are in good working order before travel.
• Perform regular checks on your vehicles for oil, fuel, tyres and seatbelts.
• Consider taking additional equipment such as a jack, spare tyres, water, blankets, torches and a first aid kit, especially if travelling to more rural or isolated areas.
• Consider using four-wheel drive vehicles for particularly poor road conditions.
• Car users should know how to perform emergency repairs.

Healthcare

• Bear in mind that healthcare facilities and services may be less extensive than what you are used to at home.
• Facilities and services may be particularly limited in rural areas.
• Pharmacies may not offer the same medications you might be accustomed to being able to purchase at home.
• If you use any medications on a regular basis, consider taking extra supplies.
• It may also be advisable to have them accompanied by a note from your doctor.
• In the event of serious or complicated illness or injury it may be necessary for a patient to be evacuated out of the country.
• Ensure that there is sufficient medical insurance in place to cover such an event.

Disease

• Find out whether or not there are any specific diseases in the location(s) you intend to travel to.
• Research the specific measures you should take to lower the risk of infection.
• It might be useful to seek medical advice prior to your trip.
• If possible, do this several weeks in advance of your travel, in case you need to obtain specific vaccinations, some of which can take time to be administered properly.
• Be careful with any cuts and grazes which might be more susceptible to infection in your travel destination than at home.
• Hygiene will be very important, but it can be more challenging to maintain good standards of hygiene in some parts of the world.
• Try to avoid venues which appear unsanitary.
• Be very aware of any medical symptoms which might arise, both when you are travelling and for up to a month after you return home.
• Seek medical assistance if you have any concerns.

Crime

• Research and familiarise yourself with your destination in advance of travel.
• Find out what the local criminal trends are and identify any potential hotspots, such as certain neighbourhoods.
• Note than crime levels can often be higher around public transport, shopping areas and crowded places.
• In higher risk areas exercise caution and be aware of your surroundings.
• Try not to overtly display your belongings or anything that could make you appear wealthy.
• Ask yourself if you need to show off your jewellery, watch, mobile phone or other items or equipment.
• Try to keep your wallet or cash hidden.
• It also helps to avoid appearing vulnerable in at-risk areas so try to display confidence and purpose as you move around.
• Avoid consulting a map in public as this will mark you out as both unfamiliar with the environment as well as being potentially vulnerable.
• Familiarise yourself with local maps and directions before wandering around.
• Identify routes to your accommodation and other safe havens (such as police stations, embassies, commercial areas with a police presence or quieter, safer neighbourhoods for example).
• Familiarise yourself with landmarks so you can orientate yourself and find your way out of trouble spots if you need to.
• Note that crime trends can change, and the level of risk can become higher, after dark.
• It might be advisable to avoid wandering around at night.
• Avoid dark alleys in urban areas.
• It is might also be advisable to travel in pairs or in a group.
• It may also be preferable to drive or be driven around certain areas rather than walking around in the street, even for going relatively short distances.
• In general, use your gut instincts and be prepared to avoid situations, places or people that seem suspicious, odd or wrong in some way.

Kidnap

• Make sure that your organisation and loved ones are ready to respond in the event that you are taken.
• Consider appropriate insurance arrangements.
• Otherwise, in at-risk areas keep knowledge of your plans and movements to a small circle of trusted individuals.
• Take family photos with you as this can help humanise you in the eyes of your captors, which could elicit sympathy and potentially encourage them to treat you better.
• Keep a low profile, but also consider travelling in pairs or in a group in order to appear less vulnerable, depending on the circumstances.
• Vary routes and routines so as to make it harder for any potential abductor to plan an attack against you.
• Consider undertaking hostile environment training in advance of travel.
• Consider undertaking close protection services if the local security environment requires it.

Civil unrest

• Civil unrest can lead to road closures and even curfews, which can affect your travel plans.
• Be prepared for delays and route alterations.
• Avoid demonstrations as they can turn violent.
• Large gatherings of people can be difficult to predict or control and can lead to issues such as mob violence, arson, assault and looting.
• The security forces may use excessive force to control events in some circumstances, posing an indiscriminate risk to anyone in the area.
• Even without any particular violence, large demonstrations can be at risk of poor crowd control, which can lead to crushes and stampedes.
• If demonstrations take place on a frequent basis, research the trends which tend to accompany them.
• Where do they tend to take place? Do they tend to turn violent? Do attendees target specific types of building or representative interests associated with a specific nationality, industry, political group (such as party-political offices, state buildings or foreign-owned businesses)?
• Once you have identified the sorts of risks, trends and areas of higher risk to be avoided you can start planning to minimise your exposure.
• If civil unrest appears to be particularly volatile, or set to last for an extended period, try to stock up with essential items (including food, water and medicine) in case you are stuck in your accommodation or work place or other location for an extended period of time.
• Be prepared to alter your plans at short notice and even to leave the area or even the whole country if conditions escalate. deteriorate.
• Identify evacuation routes and safe havens in case you need to get out of harms way at short notice.
• It is also advisable to identify the evacuation routes and fire safety procedures at your accommodation and/or work place in case you need to leave in a hurry.
• Beware of photography at sensitive sites or during civil disturbance.

Terrorism

• Terrorism can pose a risk, even in otherwise mostly safe countries.
• Assess the trends and tactics of any relevant terrorist organisations with the potential for targeting your location and identify potential targets.
• Be vigilant in and around these areas, which could include crowded places, symbolic or sensitive political sites, or busy restaurant, nightlife or tourist spots.
• Use your judgement on the frequency of incidents taking place. Just because an incident has taken place in a certain city does not mean that the city will regularly be hit again – use rational judgement to decide whether or not there is a likelihood that you will be caught up in any future incidents.
• Be aware of your surroundings and be prepared to react at short notice in the event of an incident.
• In the event of an incident, get out of the area quickly if it is safe to do so.
• Alternatively hide and try to keep out of harm’s way.
• In most cases you should only try to help other people if it is safe for you to do so.
• Keep quiet and notify the relevant authorities, colleagues or loved ones only when you are out of danger.

Aviation safety

• Try to use reputable airlines.
• Check the safety records of any companies you use to charter flights.
• Check the weather forecast in advance of travel – particularly for domestic flights.
• Consider delaying your trip or using an alternative means of transport rather than taking a risky flight.

Weather

• If rainfall, flooding, extreme temperatures or other types of severe weather are a concern, check the local weather patterns to find out if there are times of the year where the risk is much higher.
• Consider avoiding travel to at-risk destinations during these times.
• Try to stay in good quality accommodation.
• Take appropriate clothing and footwear.
• Take appropriate protection for any sensitive equipment you wish to bring.
• Note that storms, flooding and other types of harsh weather can overload infrastructure, lead to traffic jams and power cuts.
• Flooding and heavy rainfall can also raise the risk of landslides, as well as insect- and water-borne diseases in some parts of the world.
• As such, be prepared to delay, alter or even cancel travel plans to affected or high-risk areas.

Seismic activity

• Be prepared to respond at short notice to any seismic activity.
• Create an emergency plan to follow in the event of an incident that involves a communications breakdown, so you can meet colleagues at a designated meeting point if you are separated and cannot get in contact with one another.
• Practise drills such as “drop, seek cover and hold on” procedure so that you can take shelter as soon as an incident occurs.
• Know the location of your nearest medical kit and medically trained personnel.
• Knowledge of basic first aid will also be very useful.
• Get away from glass or anything that could fall if shaking starts.
• Consider carrying a whistle that can be used to alert first responders in the event that you are trapped after an earthquake – although bear in mind that in some circumstances and/or locations there may not be much in the way of first response capabilities, particularly following a damaging earthquake.
• In the event of an incident, avoid damaged buildings that might still be at risk of collapse.
• Be prepared for aftershocks.
• Note that earthquakes can trigger tsunamis and landslides so be prepared to move out of harm’s way once the shaking has stopped.
• You may need to move very quickly and with limited time.