Taking on a charity challenge has become part of some people’s travel plans in recent decades, with a host of international fundraising missions available for those who wish to push themselves and see the world at the same time.
But what may be overlooked with regard to such challenges is that there is not just the endurance side of things to factor in but also travel health considerations. Whilst many participants will pick up on advice about the need for training and a lift in fitness levels, before trekking to Machu Picchu or across the desert, others may not realise the requirement for vaccinations and antimalarials.
Pinpoint Travel Health has taken a look at three forthcoming charity challenges, to assess what travel health requirements might be required for each.
Kilimanjaro Ascent for the Mental Health Foundation
This charity challenge is available throughout 2025 and tasks participants with the mission of tackling Kilimanjaro, the world’s highest free-standing mountain and Africa’s highest, at 5869 metres at the high point of Uhuru Peak. Rising above the Tanzanian savannah, there are glorious views to be enjoyed from the preferred Machame ascent, offering a more gradual acclimatisation to the environment and altitude.
Anyone who follows celebrity news, however, will remember that pop star, Cheryl Cole, took on this challenge for Comic Relief back in March 2009. In July 2010, she collapsed and had to be treated for malaria. Whilst many instances of malaria emerge within 10 days to four weeks, Plasmodium vivax can take up to a year to manifest.
Malaria in Tanzania
In Tanzania, malaria is an issue at all points below 1800 metres. The climb to the top of Kilimanjaro starts with an ascent through a rainforest and progresses through marsh moorland. Accommodation enroute to the top is typically in tents, so antimalarial precautions are important, from use of mosquito nets to the application of DEET-based repellents and the wearing of long sleeved shirts and long trousers.
As well as ensuring correct antimalarials are taken prior to, during and after the stay in Tanzania, those tackling this challenge should be vaccinated against hepatitis A, tetanus and typhoid. However, there are also other vaccinations that websites will suggest some travellers require, including polio, hepatitis B, rabies, cholera, tuberculosis and meningococcal disease.
Vaccinations and yellow fever certification for Tanzania
But is that relevant for you, on your trip? Pinpoint Travel Health has developed a means of securing total clarity. Simply fill in your trip’s details, highlighting exactly where you will be staying or moving to, plus information about your own health situation, and what you will be doing during your trip. From there, a Travel Health Brief will be produced, detailing which vaccinations are necessary and which antimalarials are recommended. All is tailored to your precise trip with the report priced at £14 – a fraction of the cost of your charity challenge. Details of clinics at which to get your vaccinations will also be provided.
Despite yellow fever not being present in Tanzania, you will require a Yellow Fever certificate if you have travelled in a country of yellow fever transmission, prior to your arrival. The same is true if you have transited for more than 12 hours in an airport in a country where yellow fever is present. Neighbouring Kenya does have a yellow fever transmission risk.
The World Health Organisation highlights how a yellow fever vaccination is for life and that a certificate should not be rejected if 10 years have passed since its date of issue.
Trek to Jordan for Marie Curie
This 5-day challenge, taking place in November 2024, covers terrain ranging from desert to mountains, includes a dip in the Dead Sea and features nights spent in Bedouin camps. With Petra as the ultimate destination, it offers a chance to sleep under the stars, as you head towards a stunning World Heritage Site.
Vaccinations that most travellers to Jordan require are hepatitis A and tetanus but hepatitis B, rabies and typhoid inoculation may also be advised for some. To assess whether that is you, map the route of your Jordan trek out, using the Pinpoint Travel Health Brief system, explain what activities you will be undertaking and when you will be travelling, and fill in details of your own health record.
Cycle from Saigon to Angkor Wat for the Red Cross
This south-east Asian challenge, involving 11 days of cycling along backwater roads across Vietnam and Cambodia, takes participants through 450km of rural landscape. Cyclists travel past quiet villages and through the rice paddy fields of the Mekong Delta, as they head to Angkor Wat.
Travellers to Vietnam are urged to ensure they have been vaccinated against hepatitis A, tetanus and typhoid, as are those making Cambodia their destination. However, Cambodia also has a yellow fever certification requirement for all aged over one year, despite there being no yellow fever in the country.
Vaccinations for Vietnam and Cambodia
The list of diseases against which ‘some’ travellers should protect themselves through vaccination includes hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, rabies and cholera. But would you need these vaccinations for this charity challenge? Would it be wise to have a rabies vaccination, because you are cycling – something deemed higher risk when it comes to potentially being bitten by a dog or bat.
To answer these queries, order a Pinpoint Travel Health Brief and submit the exact route of your cycle journey, so all prevalent diseases can be mapped against it, at the time of your trip. Highlight activities you will engage in and your own health conditions and medicines. That will allow any contraindications to be flagged up, as well as giving you a report that details exactly what you will need, in terms of vaccinations, and what you will not.
With that in hand, in advance of your trip, you can relax, pedal hard and tuck in to the local delicacies, such as fried tarantula!