It’s not fun to think about being sick when you go abroad; it’s less fun to get sick.
Here are some informal tips based on my own experience:
It generally makes sense to get the recommended vaccinations and take the precautionary measures advised by sources knowledgeable on your location. This does cost money, and there are people who travel without following the standard advice, but it is worth considering seriously if you really want to take that risk: being sick is a serious matter anywhere, more so out of your own country, and who wants to spend their holiday or volunteering time in a hospital?
Basic health insurance is definitely not the area to skimp in; it’s often fairly cheap and can literally be a lifesaver. Bootsnall offers travel medical insurance and Dave is the resident expert… and just generally a helpful guy. Just don’t tell him I sent you; I bother him with enough questions of my own!
Compared to getting sick while traveling, my feeling is that you are in a slightly better position if you get sick while volunteering because you are likely around people – locals or longer term volunteer foreigners – who have at least some insight into local health care. If you get seriously ill in the middle of the night, someone is likely to know who to call or where to go or where to find someone who does know.
Research food and water precautions – decide how you’re going to proceed and stick to your guns. You may want to figure out what you’re going to say and/or do when offered something that doesn’t fit your “guidelines”. It is highly awkward and easy to make a faux pas, and highly unpleasant to be violently ill because you’re too polite. I have to admit that on a few occasions,the precautions I was advised to follow just sounded ridiculous. One handout from the county office where I got a few vaccinations recommended avoiding rice in India if you couldn’t be sure it was freshly cooked. Perhaps good advice in general, but if you try to follow it you may just not eat.
While I would love to believe that the Volunteer Logue is (well, meaning “I am”) the last word on everything – not the case! These are anecdote-like tips based on my own experience, so you should investigate health advice for your destination thoroughly - one common starting point is the CDC. Stay tuned for some of my own brushes with sickness while abroad.