Before you start

An employment contract — IPM affiliation is the employer's obligation
Your carte d'identité d'étranger or récépissé for CMU enrolment
Malaria prophylaxis arranged before arrival; transmission peaks after the July–September rains
A vaccination record, including yellow fever if you arrive from a country with transmission risk

Step-by-step

1
Get affiliated to the employer's IPM
Employers above a statutory headcount must create or join an institution de prévoyance maladie. Contributions run at 6% of salary split with the employer on a base between XOF 60,000 and 250,000 a month, covering the employee, spouse and dependent children, with benefits opening after two months.
Via employerWho: Your employerTwo months to benefitsYour half of 6%, on a capped base
2
Take private cover with direct settlement and evacuation
An IPM reimburses; it does not admit you. Senegalese hospitals expect payment before treatment, so the feature that changes your position is a policy that settles directly. Evacuation cover remains worth having even an hour from Dakar — the flight out of the country is the leg that costs.
In personWho: You or your employerDays, through a brokerNot published by Senegalese insurers; get quotes
3
Map the local network and the Dakar referral
Thiès is a regional capital with a regional hospital and a full network of health centres and posts, which handles routine and much serious care. For specialist intervention the referral is Hôpital Principal, CHU de Fann or Dalal Jamm in Dakar — 70 km of motorway. Establish now which facility your IPM works with at both ends.
In personWho: YouBefore you need itPublic tariffs, reimbursed in part by the IPM
4
Know what changed in Dakar before you rely on a hospital list
Aristide Le Dantec, which appears on almost every published guide to Senegalese healthcare, has been closed for reconstruction since September 2022, with delivery announced for 2026; its radiotherapy unit reopened on 4 May 2026 while the rest of the site is rebuilt. If a source still lists it as a working general hospital, it is at least four years stale on everything else too.
In personWho: YouBefore you need itFree to check
5
Enrol in the CMU if you are outside salaried employment
The CMU costs XOF 7,000 a year per person, halved to XOF 3,500 for those with capacity to pay and free for the indigent, administered through the national agency and local mutuelles. For a self-employed foreigner it is the cheapest public floor available.
In personWho: YouSame day at a mutuelleXOF 3,500–7,000 a year per person

Documents you’ll need

Employment contract and IPM affiliation number
Carte d'identité d'étranger or récépissé
Marriage certificate for a spouse, birth certificates for children
Private insurance card showing direct settlement
Vaccination record and any chronic prescription

Things most newcomers don’t know

Thiès has the best healthcare geography of any Senegalese city that is not Dakar.

The country's specialist capacity is concentrated on the Dakar peninsula, and every other city's answer to a serious emergency is a long road transfer. From Thiès it is 70 km of motorway. For a family weighing a provincial move, that is the single most decisive fact in favour of this city over Saint-Louis or Touba.

Source: Ministère de la Santé — hospital network

An IPM reimburses; it does not admit you.

Senegalese hospitals expect payment before treatment and an IPM pays you back afterwards. What changes your position at 2am is direct settlement from a private insurer. Buying reimbursement-only cover is buying the wrong half.

Source: CLEISS — régime sénégalais; local practice

The CMU is a floor for people outside payroll, not a plan for people on it.

It was built to bring the informal sector and the rural poor into cover and reimburses against public tariffs at accredited facilities. If you are employed, your real cover is the IPM plus private insurance. Treating the CMU as a substitute is the commonest planning error about Senegalese healthcare.

Source: Ministère de la Santé et de l'Action sociale — CMU

Malaria risk is inland risk here, and it follows the calendar.

Transmission peaks after the July–September rains rather than during them, and Thiès is inland enough not to get the Atlantic moderation Dakar and Saint-Louis enjoy. Prophylaxis and screened windows are worth planning around the calendar rather than treating as year-round background.

Source: TravelHealthPro (NaTHNaC) — Senegal

Common mistakes to avoid

Treating the CMU as adequate cover for a serious event — it is a floor, not a plan
Buying private insurance without direct settlement and meeting the pay-first rule at the worst moment
Assuming IPM benefits start on day one — they open after two months of contributions
Relying on a hospital list that still treats Le Dantec as open
Assuming an hour to Dakar means you do not need evacuation cover — the flight out is the expensive leg
Stopping malaria prophylaxis outside the rains; transmission peaks after them

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