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Great 4.45rating (58)

Medical Work & Support

location
3 - 12 weeks  ·  Age 18 - 50+
Verified

Highlights

  • Experience the authentic Zanzibarian way of life by living within the local community in Zanzibar.
  • Gain valuable professional experience by working in Hospitals facing resource and quality Healthcare challenges
  • Expand your skills internationally and gain valuable work experience

Highlights

  • Experience the authentic Zanzibarian way of life by living within the local community in Zanzibar.
  • Gain valuable professional experience by working in Hospitals facing resource and quality Healthcare challenges
  • Expand your skills internationally and gain valuable work experience
  • Relax on pristine white beaches, do day trips with other volunteers and swim in the crystal-clear aqua blue waters during your free time
  • Upgrade your volunteer placement into an accredited diploma, gaining a recognised qualification that can strengthen your CV, university applications and future career opportunities.

  • You don't have to pay anything yet

    Especially good for

    Age 18+
    Singles
    Couples
    Groups
    50+

    About the program

    As a qualified doctor, nurse or midwife or as a medical student in these fields, you will take part in the everyday routine at the hospital by aiding the medical staff.

    Immerse yourself in frontline healthcare on the stunning island of Zanzibar, where you'll work in a medium-sized hospital serving local communities with limited resources but unlimited dedication. This isn't your typical clinical placement – you'll rotate across multiple departments including ...

    About the program

    Immerse yourself in frontline healthcare on the stunning island of Zanzibar, where you'll work in a medium-sized hospital serving local communities with limited resources but unlimited dedication. This isn't your typical clinical placement – you'll rotate across multiple departments including Emergency, OPD, Maternity, and more, tackling everything from tropical infectious diseases to trauma care, deliveries to patient education. Some placements may extend to nearby hospitals, giving you diverse clinical exposure across Zanzibar's healthcare system.

    Target Community

    You'll serve patients from disadvantaged communities across Zanzibar – families facing infectious diseases like malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis; women giving birth with minimal medical resources; trauma victims; children with pneumonia; and individuals dealing with non-communicable diseases, burns, and domestic abuse. These are people who rely entirely on this hospital for care, often presenting late with advanced conditions due to limited healthcare access.

    The Challenge

    Zanzibar's healthcare system faces immense pressure. Infectious diseases remain prevalent, resources are scarce, and medical staff work tirelessly to provide care across multiple departments with limited equipment and supplies. The hospital serves a disadvantaged population where patients present with complex, often advanced conditions. Diagnosing tropical infectious diseases can be challenging, maternal care happens with minimal resources, and trauma cases require creative problem-solving. Every additional qualified medical professional directly impacts patient outcomes and staff capacity.

    Our Partnership Approach

    We work directly with the hospital, integrating qualified volunteers and medical students into their existing clinical teams across departments. You're not creating a separate volunteer program – you're joining their staff, contributing to their mission, and learning their resourceful approaches to healthcare delivery. Your flexibility, creativity, and willingness to explore alternative treatment solutions will be valued as you work alongside dedicated local medical professionals.

    Your Role & Hands-On Activities

    Clinical Departments (Rotation-Based):

    • Emergency Department: Assist with trauma assessments, acute care, and emergency interventions
    • Outpatient Department (OPD): Support patient consultations, diagnose and treat infectious diseases, conduct health screenings
    • Maternity/Obstetrics: Assist with deliveries, labor support, postnatal care, and newborn assessments under supervision
    • Infectious Disease Management: Help diagnose and treat HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia, STDs, typhoid fever, and other tropical diseases
    • Wound Care & Basic Procedures: Perform wound care, dressing changes, medication administration, and minor procedures
    • Trauma & Burns: Assist with trauma cases, burn treatment, and emergency stabilizations
    • Patient Education: Provide education on disease prevention, treatment plans, and health promotion (with translation support from staff)
    • Surgical Assistance: Potentially assist with surgeries depending on your qualifications and hospital needs
    • Healthcare Improvement: Contribute ideas for improving healthcare practices, hygiene, and clinic operations

    Multi-Site Opportunities:

    Depending on needs and your skills, you may support nearby hospitals, gaining diverse clinical exposure across Zanzibar's healthcare landscape.

    What You'll Learn & Gain

    • Tropical Medicine Expertise: Gain hands-on experience diagnosing and treating infectious diseases prevalent in Africa
    • Resource-Limited Practice: Master creative problem-solving and alternative treatment approaches with minimal equipment
    • Multi-Department Clinical Skills: Rotate across emergency, OPD, maternity, and other departments, building broad medical competency
    • Obstetric & Maternal Care: Learn delivery assistance, labor support, and postnatal care in challenging conditions
    • Trauma & Emergency Medicine: Develop skills managing acute trauma, burns, and emergency presentations
    • Cross-Cultural Healthcare: Understand how healthcare is delivered in Zanzibar's unique cultural and resource context
    • Patient Education Skills: Learn to communicate health information across language and cultural barriers
    • Professional Resilience: Build adaptability, flexibility, and confidence working in high-pressure, low-resource environments
    • Global Health Perspective: Deepen understanding of healthcare inequities and what quality care means in different settings

    Turn Your Volunteer Experience Into an Accredited Diploma

    Your time volunteering can become much more than an unforgettable experience. Alongside your placement, you have the opportunity to complete an internationally recognised accredited diploma, built entirely around the work you're already doing in Tanzania. With no exams and only a small amount of additional work completed online throughout your programme, you'll graduate with a recognised qualification that can strengthen your CV, support university applications and, in many countries, even contribute towards academic credit.


    Managing Your Expectations: The Reality of Volunteering

    Whilst we do our best to be as accurate as possible with what to expect on your program, the nature of volunteering is fundamentally about coming to one of the most challenged parts of the world, learning to understand the barriers and challenges surrounding community development, and then being flexible, adaptable, and proactive in working on solutions to how you can be of best benefit during your time there.

    Volunteering is, more than anything, a learning experience—so please always expect the unexpected. It's not a curated or meticulously planned travel experience. In fact, it's quite the opposite. You might find that some community members are incredibly welcoming from day one, eager to have you lead activities and drive initiatives. Others may be more skeptical or hesitant to have you heavily involved right away, preferring to continue with their established ways of doing things.

    Don't let this worry you, and don't be quick to assume you're in the wrong place. Take the time to adapt to a new culture and its challenges. Focus first and foremost on building rapport with those you're working with—get to know the students, teachers, NGO staff, and community members. Show respect, demonstrate that you're not there to immediately change their ways, and then slowly and respectfully introduce ideas about how you could be better involved, support classroom management, or share the workload.

    If you find you're not doing what you expected, please lean on our coordinators for support—there is almost always a solution, and that's exactly what they're there for.

    Ultimately, our volunteers are the ones who drive all of our initiatives as an organization. Our core focus is on capacity building and making sustainable improvements through sharing ideas, skills, and knowledge. As such, we cannot always provide a pre-set, specifically structured experience. We can, however, guide, support, and equip you along the way.

    The volunteers who are flexible, open-minded, adaptable, willing to work through challenges, and take the most initiative in their programs are always the ones who have the best and most enriching experiences!

    Typical day

    A typical day begins at 8:00 AM at the hospital, where volunteers are assigned their departments or work areas for the day. Patients are often already lined up outside the hospital at this time, and volunteers work alongside the staff to assist them as needed. Around 10-11 AM, there's usually a ...

    Typical day

    A typical day begins at 8:00 AM at the hospital, where volunteers are assigned their departments or work areas for the day. Patients are often already lined up outside the hospital at this time, and volunteers work alongside the staff to assist them as needed. Around 10-11 AM, there's usually a short break for tea to recharge, followed by continued work until lunchtime.

    As part of our volunteer program, all three meals are included in the accommodation price. Volunteers can return to the Hostel, located nearby, for lunch. Depending on individual agreements with the hospital and volunteer preferences, volunteers can choose to return to the hospital after lunch for afternoon shifts or take the afternoon off. Evening and night shifts are also available for volunteers who wish to participate.

    Your afternoons in Zanzibar can be filled with beach days, exploring nearby coffee shops, resteraunts and bars, relaxing by the pool, enjoying day trips and excursions, kite surfing and more!



    Free-time activities

    There are plenty of fun weekend activities to enjoy during your time in Zanzibar. You can easily organize these adventures with a group.

    Day Tours:

    • Stone Town & Prison Island Day Trip: Explore Prison Island, take a guided walking tour of Stone Town, visit the Slave Museum, and enjoy lunch at Lukmann.
    • Sa

    Free-time activities

    There are plenty of fun weekend activities to enjoy during your time in Zanzibar. You can easily organize these adventures with a group.

    Day Tours:

    • Stone Town & Prison Island Day Trip: Explore Prison Island, take a guided walking tour of Stone Town, visit the Slave Museum, and enjoy lunch at Lukmann.
    • Safari Blu: Experience a thrilling safari adventure, snorkel at Mnemba Island, swim in pristine waters, and watch dolphins.
    • Jozani Forest, Caves, and Spice Farm Tour: Trek through Jozani Forest, explore caves, and visit a Spice Farm to learn about Zanzibar's spices.
    • Mnemba Island, Snorkeling, and Dolphins: Snorkel around Mnemba Atoll, swim with dolphins, and relax on the beach.
    • Scuba Diving: Explore Zanzibar's underwater world with dive safaris offering multiple-day options.
    • Nungwi Trip: Visit the turtle sanctuary, relax on the beach, experience Dhow Boats Building, and enjoy lunch at the fish market. Optional: Horseback water trip.

    General Activities/Half Day Tours:

    • Dhow Cruise: Sail along the picturesque coastline and enjoy breathtaking views of the Indian Ocean.
    • Cave Swimming: Cool off in natural caves and experience the thrill of swimming in unique surroundings.
    • Kite Surfing: Ride the waves with exciting kite surfing sessions.
    • Stand-Up Paddle Board Hire: Explore the calm waters of Zanzibar on a paddleboard.
    • Kayak Hire: Paddle through scenic mangrove forests and crystal-clear waters.
    • Scooter Hire: Explore Zanzibar at your own pace with scooter rentals.
    • Car Hire - Self-Drive Tours: Discover the island's hidden gems with the flexibility of a self-drive tour.


    Requirements

    Requirements

    Minimum Age: 18 years

    In order to join the program you need to be at least 18 years old on the program start date. There might be exemptions if you can provide the permission of your legal guardian(s) or if your are accompanied by your parents.

    Language Skills

    You need to speak English (intermediate level)

    Education Requirements

    Medicine, nursing, midwifery at University level

    Criminal Background Check

    required

    Required Documents

    CV with picture and Certificate of qualification or education enrolment documents

    Nationality Restrictions

    No restrictions. Helping hands from all over the world are welcome.

    Other Skills

    Experience with tropical diseases will be an advantage.

    Time Commitment

    Your helping hand will be required on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 08:00 - 14:00

    What's Included

    What's Included

    On-site Services

    The fee covers your living expenses whilst here in Zanzibar, and a percentage goes towards your placement itself, to further support the projects. During your stay, you will be living at a vibrant volunteer house and Hostel, located in Paje, only 300 meters from the beach!

    Program Inclusions:

    • Accommodation at our lively Hostel
    • 2 meals per day (Breakfast and dinner)
    • Airport pick up
    • Orientation and town tour
    • In-country program support
    • Your placement
    • Program Certificate
    • Access to a range of Day Tours and Activities to experience more of Zanzibar!

    Airport Pickup at Zanzibar International Airport

    Your airport pickup will be arranged closer to the time. All we need is your flight and arrival information.

    Accommodation

    Our Home Away From Home - Paje Hostel:

    During your stay, you'll be based at our vibrant volunteer hostel located in the heart of Paje on Zanzibar’s beautiful east coast. It’s genuinely one of the best places to base yourself while volunteering on the island, combining a social atmosphere, comfortable accommodation, and an amazing location just minutes from the beach. 

    Family-Style Living:

    Our warm and friendly team is based on-site, so there is always someone around to help with whatever you need.The hostel has become a home away from home for many volunteers, and it’s very common for people to stay in touch long after they leave.

    Location:

    The House is located on the main road, directly in Paje, one of Zanzibar’s most popular and lively beach towns. We are only a short 3–5 minute walk from the stunning white sand beach and turquoise water the island is famous for. Everything you need is within walking distance, including cafes, restaurants, supermarkets, gyms, pharmacies, shops, ATMs, and local transport options.

    At our hostel, you are just a few meters from Paje Beach!

    The location is also very convenient for placements, with some projects within walking distance and others easily accessible via inexpensive local transport rides.

    The Rooms:

    All rooms are clean, comfortable, and newly renovated, each with private ensuite bathrooms and hot showers.

    Rooms are shared dorm-style accommodation with other volunteers and are gender-specific where appropriate. Sharing with other participants is a huge part of the experience, and many volunteers leave having made lifelong friendships with the people they stayed with.

    Common Spaces:

    We have a large swimming pool, outdoor couches and lounge spaces, a vibrant bar area, cozy hangout spots, and restaurant-style dining spaces where everyone comes together throughout the day. Whether you want to relax quietly, meet other volunteers, plan weekend trips, or enjoy social evenings together, there’s always something happening around the hostel.

    Food & Connection:

    Breakfast and dinner are included each day, and dinner especially tends to become a really social part of the experience where volunteers, travelers, and staff all come together. Our Chefs are professionally trained, and serve tasty, healthy meals.

    We also provide Wi-Fi throughout the hostel (although, as with much of Zanzibar, occasional outages can happen from time to time).

    Real Support:

    Our team genuinely cares about making sure volunteers feel safe, supported, and comfortable throughout their stay. Whether you need help arranging transport, booking activities, adjusting to life on the island, or simply have questions, our coordinators and local staff are always there to assist.

    While this is still volunteer-style accommodation in a developing country, we pride ourselves on offering a much more comfortable, social, and supportive environment than any other standard volunteer housing on the island.

    Food & Beverages

    Breakfast and Dinner is provided each day.

    Internet Access

    Good access at the project site
    You don't have to pay anything yet

    What's NOT included?

    What's NOT included?

    Flight Tickets

    The nearest airport is Zanzibar International Airport (ZNZ) in Zanzibar. We assist you to find cheap flights to Tanzania. FIND CHEAP FLIGHTS

    Travel Insurance

    Going abroad is an adventure and it is always best to be prepared. Sudden illness or injury, cancellation or theft - a travel insurance for Tanzania provides security and is a plus to have. GET A QUOTE

    Vaccines

    If you are intending to volunteer in Tanzania you should seek medical advice before starting your social journey. Check your required vaccinations for Tanzania. VACCINE CHECKER

    Details on arrival

    As hospital are open at all times, this project can be joined throughout the year. We will recommend that you arrive to Zanzibar by the end of the week so that you have the weekend to settle in and get comfortable in the house and area before beginning your work the following Monday


    Availability
    Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

    Program Fees

    $285 per week 3 - 12 weeks Age 18 - 50+

    Payment methods

    Visa Master Card Maestro American Express PayPal

    NO CREDIT CARD FEES


    Duration

    3 - 12 weeks

    Deposit

    Reserve your spot with just a few clicks and a small, secure deposit. You can pay by credit card, PayPal, or other convenient methods.


    Final Payment

    You’ll agree on the final payment method with your local organization during the application process. This final payment is only due closer to the start of your trip.

    You don't have to pay anything yet
    4.5
    Top Pick
    One of the top picks on Volunteer World, according to travelers
    2025
    Very happy to earned the experience! Nice people, nice enviornment and nice project. Even if things don‘t went as planned they always try ...
    Valentina Pock

    Medical Work & Support

    2025
    These past weeks were without a doubt the best of my life, not because of the places I saw, but because of the people who were there every ...
    Alicia Veiga

    Medical Work & Support

    2025
    I had the most amazing experience in Paje. Not only have you got the beautiful island to travel around but you meet the most amazing team ...
    Abigail Jones

    Medical Work & Support

    2024
    My stay at the hostel was great. The girls who work there and the owners are very friendly and social. My volunteering program was at ...
    Floo Vander Meeren

    Medical Work & Support

    2024
    Incredible and very enriching experience personally and professionally. Good level of English required to make the most of the experience. ..
    2026
    Das Krankenhaus lag ca 40 min mit dem TukTuk oder fast 1.15h mit dem Bus entfernt von dem Hostel. Der Weg war beschwerlich und leider auch ...

    Location


    Meet your project coordinator

    Jackson
    58
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    4.45
    Great
    2014
    Founded

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    Spoken languages: English
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    Travel dates

    1. - 1. Jan 1

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