Think twice.

Active notices

• • Ebola Bundibugyo Virus Disease in Ituri and Nord-Kivu Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• • Ebola Bundibugyo Virus Disease in Haut-Uélé and Tshopo Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• • Meningococcal Disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Tap water safe to drink: No — bottled/filtered only

Vaccines

Required: Yellow Fever

Recommended: Chikungunya, Cholera, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Malaria, Measles, Monkeypox, Rabies, Typhoid

Staying safe

• •Authorities: There are numerous police checkpoints throughout the country and it's difficult to know if you're coming across a police checkpoint since many of them are poorly marked.
• •Corruption in the Congolese police is widespread. Since members of the police earn low salaries, it's possible they may coerce you into giving them bribes or they may abuse their powers.
• •As with all authority figures, always remain calm, firm, and polite.
• •Political unrest: The Republic of the Congo is one of the most corrupt and least efficiently governed countries in the world. Corruption, cronyism, and nepotism are widespread.
• •The Congolese have a strained relationship with their government and demonstrations against the government can turn violent.
• •Civil conflict: As aforementioned, many Congolese people are frustrated with their government, and this has often lead to open warfare.

Staying healthy

• •Population estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death ra…
• •The likelihood of getting malaria is very high if effective preventative medication is not taken.
• •Tap water is not drinkable, if it's even running at all.
• •Medical care is substandard throughout the country.
• •Brazzaville has many pharmacies, but Pharmacie Mavré is recommended. Please remember to always check the expiration dates on boxes before purchasing any products.

Cash vs. Card

The currency of the country is the Central African CFA franc, denoted FCFA (ISO currency code: XAF). It's also used by five other Central African countries. It is interchangeable at par with the West African CFA franc (XOF), which is used by six countries. Both currencies are fixed at a rate of 1 euro = 655.957 CFA francs.