Health Care, Disease Control, Crime and Safety in Congo

The health care facilities in the Congo are somehow limited to its capital city, Brazzaville, which makes medicinal care inaccessible in the rural areas. This situation of limited medical and dental facilities as well as basic health services lead to many outbreaks of serious diseases in the Congo during the past years.

Malaria is deemed as the country’s biggest killer as hundreds of thousands of Congolese die each year because of this disease. In the city of Lubumbashi alone, about 60% of noted child deaths under 12 years of age are due to malaria. In response to this, the government has launched a mosquito net campaign where millions of mosquito nets with insecticide are given out to every family throughout the country.

There has been a cholera outbreak in major cities of the Congo like Pointe-Noire, Kouilou, and Brazzaville since December 2006. A year after, the Ebola virus has been noted to cause several Congolese lives. Monkeypox, which is a disease brought by a virus transmitted to humans through ground squirrels and rodents, has also infected the Congolese. The Republic of the Congo was one of the first countries in Africa to have recognized the deadly HIV/Aids epidemic way back in the year 1983.

There is poor sanitation and water sanitation in most areas in the country especially in the remote areas. It is best to consider boiling all drinking water first before taking them in. Vaccinations for yellow fever, cholera, meningitis, polio, rabies and typhoid are recommended before visiting the country of Congo.