Before you start

International health insurance that names medical evacuation and states where it evacuates to
A yellow fever certificate — required for entry, not merely recommended
Routine and travel vaccinations reviewed at least eight weeks before departure
A malaria plan agreed with a travel-medicine doctor, appropriate to how long you are staying
A decision, made in advance, about which clinic you will call

Step-by-step

1
Arrange evacuation cover before you fly
UK government advice is explicit that medical evacuation is likely to be necessary for all but the most basic treatment and that air ambulance evacuation carries very high costs. Read the policy for what it evacuates to and from — and if your work takes you to the Pool, the Likouala or the far north, check whether those are inside the cover or outside it.
OnlineWho: You or your employerBefore departureEvacuation-inclusive cover is the single largest health line in a Brazzaville budget
2
Pick a clinic and put the number in your phone today
France Diplomatie lists, for Brazzaville, the embassy's centre médico-social (secretariat +242 06 639 45 45, medical emergencies +242 05 578 19 54), Clinique ELIKIA (+242 06 956 78 78), Clinique NETCO (+242 06 660 25 25), Clinique Les Clairons (+242 06 632 51 51), the CHU on Avenue Lyautey with 24-hour maternity and paediatrics, and Hôpital Blanche Gomez on Boulevard Denis Sassou N'Guesso for dental care. With no ambulance service, having chosen in advance is the whole plan.
In personWho: YouYour first fortnightConsultations are paid at the point of care
3
Take malaria seriously, all twelve months
WHO's Africa office recorded close to a million malaria cases and 2,250 deaths in the country in 2025, and the health ministry met in Brazzaville on 30 April 2026 to prepare the introduction of a malaria vaccine into the national immunisation programme. Prophylaxis, a treated net and repellent are the standard package for a new arrival, and a fever is a same-day rapid test — never a wait-and-see.
In personWho: You, with a travel clinicBefore departure and continuouslyProphylaxis is a recurring monthly cost
4
Treat water and food as a risk you manage, not a matter of luck
The FCDO's health page for Congo names malaria, dengue, schistosomiasis and mpox among the risks present. Drink treated or bottled water, be careful with ice and uncooked salads outside places you trust, and never swim in the river or in fresh water — schistosomiasis is the reason, and the rapids are the other reason.
In personWho: YouEvery dayBottled water is a real household line item
5
Bring a buffer of anything you take regularly
Pharmacies in Brazzaville stock the common things reliably and specialist medication unreliably. Bring enough of any long-term prescription to outlast a supply gap, carry a written summary of your history and current medication in French, and ask your clinic which pharmacy they trust before you need one at nine on a Sunday evening.
In personWho: YouBefore departureOut of pocket

Documents you’ll need

Yellow fever vaccination certificate (carte jaune) — checked at the border
Insurance documents naming evacuation cover and the receiving country
Your chosen clinic's direct number, stored offline
A written summary of your medical history and current prescriptions, in French
Enough of any specialist medication to outlast a supply gap

Things most newcomers don’t know

There is no ambulance number. Everything else follows from that.

The FCDO states there is no central number for emergency services in the Republic of the Congo and advises identifying local medical facilities in advance and keeping their contact details to hand. If you have not chosen a clinic and stored its number before something happens, the first ten minutes of an emergency go on searching rather than calling.

Source: UK FCDO — Republic of Congo, health

Malaria here is not a rainy-season problem.

Brazzaville sits in a year-round falciparum transmission zone, and the national figures — close to a million cases and 2,250 deaths in 2025 — are not concentrated in a season you can plan around. Newcomers who stop taking prophylaxis after the first quiet month are making the single most common health mistake in central Africa.

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa — Congo malaria vaccine, April 2026

The best-resourced health institution in the city may not be a hospital at all.

WHO's Regional Office for Africa is headquartered in Brazzaville, which gives the city an unusual density of public-health expertise and none of it is a clinical service for you. Do not read the presence of a large international health bureaucracy as evidence that the local emergency care behind it is any different from what the FCDO describes.

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville

Yellow fever is an entry condition, not travel-clinic advice.

The FCDO lists a yellow fever vaccination as required to pass border control into the Republic of the Congo, and the foreign ministry's own page for travellers recommends it and the carnet before departure. Arriving without the certificate is a border problem before it is a health problem.

Source: UK FCDO entry requirements; Ministère des Affaires Étrangères

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving without evacuation cover, or with a policy that excludes the regions your work takes you to
Waiting for an emergency to discover there is no ambulance to call
Stopping malaria prophylaxis because the first month was uneventful
Treating a fever as flu instead of testing for malaria the same day
Swimming in the river or in fresh water
Relying on local pharmacies for a specialist medication instead of bringing a buffer

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

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