Before you start

International health insurance that names medical evacuation and states where it evacuates to
A yellow fever vaccination certificate — required, and checked on arrival at Ndjili
Routine and travel vaccinations reviewed at least eight weeks before you fly
A decision, before you need it, about which clinic you will call

Step-by-step

1
Arrange evacuation cover before you arrive
British government advice is explicit that Western-standard medical facilities are almost non-existent outside Kinshasa and that medical evacuation to South Africa or elsewhere could be necessary. Inside Kinshasa, the CPU is described as able to handle basic problems and to stabilise a patient after most serious accidents — stabilise being the operative word. Your insurance is the plan for what happens after stabilisation.
OnlineWho: You or your employerBefore you flyEvacuation-inclusive cover is the single largest health line in a Kinshasa budget
2
Subscribe to an emergency centre and put the number in your phone
The CPU sits inside the CMK campus at the corner of rue du Commerce and rue du Bakongo in Gombe, with a shock room, intensive-care beds and privileged access to the CMK platform — MRI, scanner, laboratory, endoscopy, theatres, dialysis. It runs 24/7 and on subscription. The other names foreign residents use are the Clinique du Dr Lelo and the Centre médical de Monkole in Mont Ngafula.
In personWho: YouYour first fortnightSubscription-based; ask the CPU secretariat for the current terms
3
Treat water as the primary health risk, not an inconvenience
The DRC recorded more than 71,200 cholera cases and 2,070 deaths in 2025 — the worst outbreak in twenty-five years — and by early 2026 Kinshasa was carrying roughly 30% of national cases and 32% of deaths across nineteen health zones. French government health advice is that any diarrhoea, with or without fever, warrants an urgent medical consultation. Bottled or treated water for drinking and teeth, and be careful about ice and raw salads outside places you trust.
In personWho: YouEvery dayBottled water is a real monthly line item for a household
4
Take malaria seriously and agree a plan with a travel clinic
Kinshasa is a year-round falciparum malaria city. Prophylaxis, bed nets and repellent are the standard package, and a fever is a same-day test rather than a wait-and-see — rapid diagnostic tests are widely available at pharmacies and clinics. Decide with a travel-medicine doctor before departure, because the right regimen depends on how long you are staying.
In personWho: You, with a travel clinicBefore departure and ongoingProphylaxis is a recurring monthly cost
5
Know where the outbreak actually is
The DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak was declared by the Ministry of Public Health on 15 May 2026 in Ituri province, and WHO determined the Bundibugyo-virus epidemic in the DRC and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 17 May 2026. Ituri is in the far north-east, well over 1,500 km from Kinshasa. It is a serious event and it is not a Kinshasa event — but it will shape travel rules, screening at Ndjili, and what your insurer says.
OnlineWho: YouCheck before any domestic travelNone

Documents you’ll need

Yellow fever vaccination certificate (carte jaune)
Insurance policy documents naming evacuation cover and the receiving country
Your emergency-centre subscription card and the clinic's direct number
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. That is the fact everything else follows from.

UK government advice states plainly that there is no general emergency medical number in the DRC and that you should contact a hospital directly for an ambulance. If you have not chosen a clinic and stored its number before something happens, the first ten minutes of an emergency are spent searching rather than calling.

Source: UK FCDO — DRC travel advice, health

The best-equipped emergency room in the city works on subscription.

The CPU has the shock room, the intensive-care beds and privileged access to CMK's imaging, laboratory and theatres — and it operates on an abonnement. Turning up as a stranger in a crisis is not the intended path. This is the single most useful piece of Kinshasa admin nobody tells new arrivals about.

Source: Centre Médical de Kinshasa — CPU; France Diplomatie contacts utiles

Free maternity care in Kinshasa is real, and it is not for you.

The gratuité de la maternité programme launched in Kinshasa in 2024 and has since extended to fourteen provinces with World Bank support — a genuine and significant reform of Congolese public health. It is built around Congolese households, and the extension planned through 2026 is territorial rather than about eligibility. Read it as context for the health system you are living in, not as a benefit you can plan around.

Source: Ministère de la Santé Publique / ACP, 2026

Cholera and Ebola are different problems in different provinces.

The cholera epidemic is a Kinshasa problem — water, density, sanitation — and it is the one that should change your daily behaviour. Ebola is an Ituri problem, 1,500 km away, and the one that will change your paperwork and your domestic-travel plans. Conflating them produces both unnecessary alarm and the wrong precautions.

Source: WHO/AFRO and UNICEF, 2025–2026

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving without evacuation cover, or with a policy that excludes the provinces you plan to work in
Waiting for an emergency to discover the best emergency centre requires a subscription
Drinking or brushing teeth with untreated water during a cholera epidemic
Treating a fever as flu rather than testing for malaria the same day
Assuming the universal health coverage rollout gives you access to anything
Relying on pharmacies for a specialist medication — supply is not guaranteed, so bring a buffer

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