Before you start

A yellow-fever vaccination certificate — required for entry and inspected at the airport
Malaria prophylaxis arranged before you fly, and a rapid diagnostic test in the house
International health insurance including medical evacuation, ideally with direct settlement rather than reimbursement
Routine vaccinations reviewed against Angola's profile — check TravelHealthPro at least eight weeks before travel

Step-by-step

1
Sort yellow fever properly, at least ten days before you fly
The certificate becomes valid ten days after vaccination and is then valid for life under the current International Health Regulations. It is one of the few documents in this entire guide that is genuinely checked on arrival in Angola, so it is also the one worth having in your hand rather than in an app.
In personWho: You, at a travel clinicAt least 10 days before travelClinic-dependent at home
2
Treat malaria as a live risk, not a travel-guide footnote
Angola is high-risk for malaria year-round, and Luanda is not an exception the way some African capitals are. Take the prophylaxis you were prescribed, use a net and repellent, and — the part people skip — know before you need it which clinic you would drive to at 2am with a fever. Any fever within a year of leaving Angola should be treated as malaria until a test says otherwise.
In personWho: YouFrom before arrival, continuouslyProphylaxis is cheaper bought at home
3
Buy cover with direct settlement, not reimbursement
The FCDO states that private clinics in Angola charge high fees in advance. Reimbursement afterwards does not get you admitted. What you want is a policy where the insurer pays the clinic directly, plus evacuation cover to South Africa or Europe — which is the actual plan for anything serious, and is the largest single financial risk of living here.
OnlineWho: You or your employerDays, via a brokerNot publicly listed by Angolan insurers; get quotes rather than trusting a figure from a blog
4
Know your clinic before you need it
The private clinics used by foreign residents in Luanda include Clínica Girassol on Rua Comandante Gika in Alvalade — a 24-hour urgências department on +244 226 698 000 — and Clínica Sagrada Esperança on the Ilha, with smaller clinics in Talatona. The FCDO notes there are several competent private clinics in Luanda with some English-speaking staff, and maintains its own list of English-speaking providers. Register with one, put the number in your phone, and drive the route once.
In personWho: YouBefore you need itConsultations are billed privately and up front
5
Assume the standard drops sharply the moment you leave Luanda
UK government advice is that healthcare outside Luanda is very limited. That is a planning fact rather than a caution: it means weekend trips inland, a posting to a provincial city, or a family visit to Benguela or Huambo should be costed with evacuation cover that works from there, not just from the capital.
In personWho: YouEvery trip out of the cityEvacuation cover is the line item

Documents you’ll need

Yellow-fever vaccination certificate — carry the paper one
International insurance card showing direct settlement and evacuation cover
A list of your medications with generic names, since brands differ
Resident card or passport, which clinics ask for at registration

Things most newcomers don’t know

The certificate you are asked for at the airport is the yellow-fever one, and it is checked.

Most entry requirements in most countries are theoretical. This one is not: it is an entry condition for Angola and vaccination books are inspected. Ten days of lead time turn a non-event into a refused boarding.

Source: UK FCDO Angola entry requirements / TravelHealthPro

Pay-before-admission is what insurance is actually solving here.

The FCDO's wording is that private clinics charge high fees in advance. The problem a policy solves is therefore not the price, which an expatriate salary can usually absorb, but the door — a reimbursement policy leaves you arguing about a card at 2am. Direct settlement is the feature to check for.

Source: UK FCDO — Angola health advice

Angola's health advisory list is longer than malaria alone.

Alongside malaria, UK advice names dengue, Zika, cholera and altitude sickness as risks in Angola — the last of which is a real consideration on the central plateau, not in Luanda. A single 'take your malaria pills' briefing undersells what you should be talking to a travel clinic about.

Source: UK FCDO / TravelHealthPro Angola

112 is the ambulance number and 111 is the police one.

Angola's police emergency number changed from 113 to 111, and older guides and even some printed material still carry the old number. INEMA, the national pre-hospital emergency institute, is on 112 and Bombeiros on 115. In a country where response times are long anyway, dialling a decommissioned number is a cost you cannot afford.

Source: Polícia Nacional de Angola / INEMA

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving without the yellow-fever certificate, which is an entry condition rather than a recommendation
Buying a reimbursement-only policy and meeting the pay-in-advance rule at the worst possible moment
Skipping evacuation cover, which is the largest financial risk of the posting
Assuming Luanda is malaria-free because it is a capital city — it is not
Travelling inland on cover that only really works in Luanda
Dialling 113 for the police, which has been decommissioned in favour of 111

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