Destination guide
Nigeria travel vaccinations and malaria advice
Flying to Lagos or Abuja for work, or heading home to see family? Here's what UK travellers actually need, from the yellow fever certificate to the malaria tablets too many people skip.
The short answer
What vaccinations do I need for Nigeria?
Most UK travellers to Nigeria need yellow fever, hepatitis A, typhoid and a tetanus, diphtheria and polio booster. Nigeria generally asks arriving travellers for proof of yellow fever vaccination, so that certificate is usually the first thing to sort. Depending on your trip, length of stay and what you'll be doing, vaccines such as hepatitis B, rabies and meningococcal ACWY may also be advised, particularly for longer stays or travel during the dry season.
Just as important as any vaccine: malaria risk is high across the whole of Nigeria all year round, so prescription antimalarial tablets are recommended for almost everyone, including short business trips to Lagos or Abuja. These recommendations are general guidance from TravelHealthPro (UKHSA and NaTHNaC), and the right combination for you is confirmed at a short consultation with our pharmacist.
Plan once, travel often
One consultation can cover years of trips to Nigeria
Many of our Nigeria travellers fly out several times a year, whether that's quarterly board meetings in Lagos or a family visit every Christmas. The encouraging part is that most of the groundwork only needs doing once. Yellow fever protection is lifelong for most adults, hepatitis A covers you long term after a booster, and typhoid needs only a periodic top-up. After the first visit, repeat trips usually come down to a quick malaria prescription and a check that nothing has lapsed.
Every recommendation on this page is general guidance based on TravelHealthPro, the UKHSA and NaTHNaC resource used across the NHS. Your personal list depends on your health, your itinerary and what you've had before, which is why everything is confirmed at a short consultation with our pharmacist rather than guessed from a webpage.
TravelHealthPro guidance
Recommended vaccines for Nigeria
These recommendations follow TravelHealthPro (UKHSA/NaTHNaC) guidance for Nigeria. Which ones you actually need depends on your itinerary, health and vaccination history, so we confirm your personal list at a short consultation before anything is given.
Hepatitis A
Most travellers
Spread through contaminated food and water, so it's sensible even for hotel-based business trips to Lagos or Abuja.
Tetanus, Diphtheria & Polio
Most travellers
One combined booster covers all three if your last dose was more than ten years ago.
Typhoid
Most travellers
Caught from food and water, and worth having even for short stays built around restaurant meals and family cooking.
Yellow fever
Most travellers
Given at our registered yellow fever centre with the international certificate Nigeria expects arriving travellers to show.
Chikungunya
Some travellers
A mosquito-borne virus considered for certain longer or repeated trips, depending on your itinerary and health.
Cholera
Some travellers
Usually reserved for aid workers and those heading to areas with very limited clean water, not typical business travel.
Dengue
Some travellers
Vaccination is only suitable in specific circumstances, so daytime bite avoidance remains the main defence for most people.
Hepatitis B
Some travellers
Spread through blood and bodily fluids, so it's relevant for longer stays, healthcare work or any likelihood of medical treatment locally.
Measles (MMR)
Some travellers
Measles still circulates in Nigeria, so it's worth checking you've had both childhood MMR doses before you go.
Meningococcal disease
Some travellers
Nigeria lies in Africa's meningitis belt, so the ACWY vaccine is often advised, particularly for dry-season travel or close community contact.
Polio
Some travellers
An additional dose may be advised for longer stays given ongoing poliovirus circulation in the region; we'll confirm at your consultation.
Rabies
Some travellers
Pre-travel doses greatly simplify treatment after any bite or scratch, valuable where prompt medical care can't be guaranteed.
Tuberculosis
Some travellers
Mainly considered for children and long-stay travellers living closely with local communities.
Entry rules — separate from your jabs
Yellow fever certificate: what Nigeria requires
A yellow fever certificate requirement is a legal condition of entry — it is not the same thing as the vaccine being recommended for your health. The recommendation (when there is one) appears in the vaccine list above; the entry rule is below.
Nigeria requires a yellow fever certificate from ALL arrivals
Every traveller aged 9 months or older must show a valid International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP) — or a medical exemption letter — to enter Nigeria, whichever country they arrive from. The certificate becomes valid 10 days after vaccination, so plan ahead.
Separately, yellow fever transmission does occur in Nigeria — so the vaccine itself may be advised for your health; see the vaccine list above and we'll confirm at your consultation.
Malaria & mosquitoes
Malaria risk in Nigeria is high, everywhere, all year
There is no low season and no safe region: TravelHealthPro classifies the whole of Nigeria as high risk for malaria throughout the year, and that includes Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Prescription antimalarial tablets are recommended for virtually every traveller, and the right tablet for you is confirmed at your consultation based on your health and itinerary. Tablets work alongside bite avoidance, not instead of it, so both matter.
- Take antimalarial tablets exactly as prescribed, including the doses after you return home
- Use a 50% DEET repellent on exposed skin, especially from dusk onwards
- Sleep under a treated mosquito net or in screened, air-conditioned rooms
- Any fever within a year of travel needs urgent medical attention, so mention your trip
Visiting friends & relatives
Going home to see family? You're the traveller most at risk
If you were born in Nigeria or are visiting relatives there, it is easy to feel the usual precautions don't apply to you. The evidence says otherwise. Travellers visiting friends and relatives account for most of the serious malaria cases seen in the UK, often because they stay longer, eat and live as locals do, and skip the tablets. Any childhood immunity to malaria is lost within a couple of years of leaving, so a trip home deserves the same preparation as any other journey.
- Immunity from growing up in Nigeria fades quickly and does not protect you now
- Longer stays in family homes often mean more mosquito exposure than hotel trips
- Children born in the UK have no immunity at all and need their own protection
- Food prepared by family still carries typhoid and hepatitis A risk, so vaccines matter
Yellow fever & business travel
Sort the paperwork before the boarding pass
Yellow fever is the one vaccine where the paperwork matters almost as much as the jab. Nigeria expects arriving travellers to show an international certificate of vaccination, which we issue on the spot as a registered yellow fever centre, but it only becomes valid ten days after the injection. For business travellers on recurring trips, the good news is that one dose covers most adults for life, so a single well-timed appointment sets you up for every future visit.
- Certificates become valid ten days after vaccination, so build that into your travel dates
- One dose provides lifelong protection for most adults, with no routine boosters
- Keep your certificate with your passport and carry it on every trip to Nigeria
- A short consultation also covers typhoid, hepatitis A and boosters in the same visit
FAQ
Nigeria travel health: your questions answered
Travelling to Nigeria soon?
Book a short consultation at our pharmacist-led travel clinic in Timperley, and we'll go through your itinerary, sort your yellow fever certificate and put together the right malaria plan for your trip. Most vaccines can be given on the day, and we're a few minutes from Altrincham with easy parking.