Before you start

International health insurance that names medical evacuation, states the receiving country AND confirms it covers the internal flight to Kinshasa
A yellow fever vaccination certificate — required and checked on arrival
Routine and travel vaccinations reviewed at least eight weeks before departure
A months-deep stock of any medication you cannot reliably replace

Step-by-step

1
Test your evacuation plan on paper before you accept the posting
UK government advice is explicit that Western-standard facilities are almost non-existent outside Kinshasa. From Mbuji-Mayi that means two flights: a domestic leg and then an international one. Ask your insurer in writing whether the internal leg is covered, who arranges it, what happens when the daily flight has gone, and what the realistic response time is overnight. Most policies are vague about exactly this, and it is the difference the posting turns on.
OnlineWho: You or your employerBefore you accept, not before you flyThe largest single health line in a Kasaï budget
2
Treat water as the primary risk
Mbuji-Mayi's water problem is structural rather than seasonal — a 2020 government project budgeted USD 26.2 million to rehabilitate the infrastructure, which gives the measure of it. Against the backdrop of a national cholera epidemic that produced more than 71,200 cases and 2,070 deaths in 2025, the worst in twenty-five years, treat drinking water as something you produce rather than receive. Filtration or bottled water for drinking and teeth, and any diarrhoea with or without fever is an urgent consultation.
In personWho: YouEvery dayFiltration equipment and consumables are a standing household cost
3
Identify your medical focal point on day one
In practice the best medical capacity here sits with the church networks, the humanitarian programmes and the university's medical faculty. Find out which facility you are attached to, whether it covers your family, and what its after-hours arrangement is. If you are not with an organisation, register somewhere and store the number before you need it.
In personWho: YouFirst weekConsultations paid at the point of care
4
Take malaria as the default explanation for a fever
Intense year-round falciparum transmission. Prophylaxis, nets and repellent are the standard package and a fever means a same-day rapid test, not a wait-and-see. Agree the regimen with a travel-medicine doctor before departure because the right one depends on the length of the posting.
In personWho: You, with a travel clinicBefore departure and continuouslyA recurring monthly cost
5
Bring the medication you cannot replace
Supply arrives by air. Specialist medication, particular dosages and anything requiring cold chain are the categories to plan around. Bring a buffer measured in months, restock on every trip out, and carry your prescription in French with generic drug names.
In personWho: YouBefore you fly and at every home visitFar below the cost of running out

Documents you’ll need

Yellow fever vaccination certificate
Insurance documents naming evacuation cover, the receiving country and the internal repositioning flight
Your medical focal point's direct number
A written medical history and prescription list in French, using generic names
A months-deep buffer of any specialist medication

Things most newcomers don’t know

Your evacuation has an extra leg, and it is the leg policies are vaguest about.

From Kinshasa evacuation is one flight; from Mbuji-Mayi it is two, and the first is domestic, weather-dependent and scheduled rather than on demand. Getting the internal leg named in the policy, with an arranging party and a response commitment, is the most consequential health admin of the whole posting.

Source: UK FCDO health advice; the city's connectivity

There is no ambulance number in this country.

UK government advice states plainly that the DRC has no general emergency medical number and that you contact a hospital directly. Choosing a facility and storing its number before anything happens is the cheapest preparation available anywhere in this file.

Source: UK FCDO — DRC travel advice, health

The water problem here is structural, and it is the reason to be strict.

This is a city whose state power plant failed in 1990 and whose water network has needed emergency rehabilitation funding. During the country's worst cholera epidemic in twenty-five years, that combination is exactly the risk profile that makes household water treatment non-negotiable rather than cautious.

Source: 2020 government water rehabilitation project; UNICEF cholera reporting, 2025

Ebola is roughly a thousand kilometres away, in Ituri.

The DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak was declared in Ituri on 15 May 2026 and WHO determined the Bundibugyo-virus epidemic a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 17 May 2026. Ituri is in the far north-east. The disease that should change your daily behaviour in Kasaï-Oriental is the water-borne one, not that one.

Source: WHO, 17 May 2026; DRC Ministry of Public Health, 15 May 2026

Common mistakes to avoid

Accepting the posting before confirming the internal evacuation flight is covered
Assuming an organisation's medical arrangement extends to your family
Relaxing about water because the tap is running
Waiting to see whether a fever passes rather than testing for malaria the same day
Arriving with a month of specialist medication and expecting to refill locally
Confusing the Ebola emergency in Ituri with the risks that actually apply here

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