South African Medical Aid

Application Instructions

Students from the US must complete the form linked below to complete registration for the Ingwe Health student medical aid policy. Ingwe Health medical aid will serve as your primary sickness and accident insurance.

Additionally, Bard College has a blanket medical emergency policy that covers every student traveling on a Bard program. Emergency evacuation and other emergencies are covered by this policy. Each student will receive a Medex (managing company) identification card including all necessary information during pre-departure training in the US.  However, if you have US health insurance, we strongly encourage you not to drop your US insurance policy.

Click here to access the instruction sheet for the medical aid form (due March 21st)

Click here to access the Ingwe Health medical aid form (due March 21st)

Click here for more information on health and safety in South Africa

Vaccination Requirements:

Technically, there are no vaccination requirements to travel to South Africa.  However, if you are planning on traveling outside of South Africa, you may need a yellow fever vaccination.  In fact, although yellow fever is not a disease risk in South Africa, the government requires travelers arriving from or going to countries where yellow fever is present to present proof of yellow fever vaccination.

Moreover, if you are planning on spending time outside Johannesburg (other than Shinwedzi during orientation), you may need to take a prophylactic for malaria.  You can find more information here.