Traveling to Brazzaville—Information Bulletin

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1. Visa 2. Immigration 3. Luggage 4. Transport 5. Vaccination and Health information 6. Bank and foreign exchange 7. Security 8. Climate 9. Language

10. Electricity 11. Food 12. Hotels 13. Per diems and air tickets 14. Restaurants 15. Clinics 16. Useful Contacts at WHO/AFRO

Traveling to Brazzaville—Information Bulletin 2

1. Visa An entry visa to the Republic of Congo is man-datory. Visas can be obtained at the Embassy or Consulate of the Republic of Congo in the coun-try of nationality or residence. If there is no diplo-matic representation of the Republic of Congo in your country, please bring MANDATORILY the especial waiver granted by WHO. In this case, at the international airport of Brazzaville (Maya-Maya) or the autonomous Port, the visa is ob-tained by the payment of 20.000 FCFA, USD 50 or Euros 35. Your passport will be retained to process the visa and returned 48 hours later. 2. Immigration On your arrival, an immigration form will be pro-vided to you. You are requested to fill in the form and to present it at the immigration office togeth-er with your national passport or United Nations Laissez-Passer. 3. Luggage You are requested to preserve your luggage tags and to present them at the exit to the cus-toms control. You can entrust the withdrawal and the carriage of your luggage to the carriers with the assistance of the AFRO team. In gen-eral, the fee of the carriers is 2.000 FCFA. 4. Transport Airport – Hotel Upon arrival, a WHO vehicle will be available to transport you to your hotel. It will be the same for your departure, from your hotel to the airport. You will only need to return your “Return Jour-ney Information Form” to the travel Unit at the Regional Office.

Hotel – Regional Office For meetings organized at the Regional Office, daily transport is organized between the hotels and the Regional Office during meeting days. Transportation in town The international airport of Brazzaville is about 4 kms from the city centre and about 10 kms from the Regional Office. Taxis can be used as means of transportation. A ride by taxi costs at least 2.000 to 3.000 FCFA between the airport and city centre, and 1.000 FCFA to 1.500 FCFA within the city. Taxis are identified by their green and white paint. Certain hotels provide shuttle services. 5. Vaccination and health information Vaccination against yellow fever is mandatory. Check the validity of your international health certificate and update it if necessary. The presentation of your international health certifi-cate is required by the border health agents up-on arrival. Other advisable vaccinations are: typhoid fever, hepatitis A and B virus, meningitis, tetanus and poliomyelitis. With regard to Malaria, Congo is classified in zone C. The risk of contracting malaria exists all year, especially from Plasmodium falciparum Antimalaria prophilaxis adapted to each individu-al is recommended before onward journey and two weeks after return. It is recommended to add other individual protection measures (sprays, creams, mosquito nets, etc). A dispensary located at the Regional Office is at the disposal of all the visitors for all health ques-tions during working hours.

Traveling to Brazzaville—Information Bulletin 3

6. Bank and foreign exchange Currency exchange: The BCI Bank has an office on the premises of the Regional Office for cur-rency exchange. Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 09:00am to 14:00pm. You are requested to provide a copy of your passport and airplane ticket. Automatic teller machines: Two ATMs are ac-cessible in the main Hall of the Regional Office. One of ECOBANK and the second of the inter-national commercial Bank (B.C.I) The ATM of ECOBANK accepts only cards of the ECO-BANK network and the ATM of B.C.I accepts only VISA cards. ATMs are accessible every day, 24/24h. Other distributors are accessible downtown near certain banks, 24 /24h. The currency used in the Republic of Congo is CFA franc whose exchange rate is fixed at about: 1 euro= 655,957 FCFA. 1 USD = 476.000 FCFA 7. Security A Security clearance is mandatory before any mission to the Republic of Congo for UN staff. A request is done through site https://dss.un.org. Please, kindly read the AFRO Security Guide for more useful tips. . 8. Climate The Republic of Congo has a tropical climate. The annual average temperature is 25 °C with permanent humidity of the air. There are two dry seasons (low temperatures, almost null precipi-tations) and two rainy seasons (high tempera-tures, very strong precipitations).

February –March : small dry season 25 °C

April—May : small rainy season 25 °C

June – September : big dry season 23 °C

October – January : big rainy season 25 °C

The seasons : Average Temperature

9. Language The official language of the Republic of Congo is French. The two most spoken national lan-guages are Lingala (in Brazzaville and the north of the country) and Kitouba (in Pointe Noire and the south). 10. Electricity 220 Volts- 230 Volts AC50 11. Food The Congolese cuisine is quite varied. Among the popular national dishes in restaurants are:

• Saka-saka: Pounded cassava leaves, sea-soned and prepared with groundnut paste or palm oil and accompanied by rice.

• Chicken á la Mouambe (Mossaka): Chicken boiled or roasted in groundnut paste or thick palm oil sauce served with rice or pounded plantain.

• Maboke: Freshwater fish, boiled in spices, piri-piri and other seasoning, wrapped in big leaves.

• Grilled piri-piri chicken (or barbecued).

• Mutton stew in groundnut sauce.

• Cabbage palm salad.

• Asparagus spears.

• Smoked fish (Moukalou): Smoked fish soup or eaten with koko (sliced leaves) and groundnut paste (salted fish can also be used).

Traveling to Brazzaville—Information Bulletin 4

12. Hotels All bookings have been made in a recommended hotel (below) within the UN safety zone :

Nom Adresse Numéro de Téléphone

Tarif de chambre

préférentiel

de … à ... FCFA

BRAZZA BEACH HO-

TEL,

Cité OMS AFRO au Djoué 05 570 02 21 / 06 634 85 76 70 000 - 130 000

MAYI HOTEL Barrage du Djoué 06 652 01 01 50 000

Traveling to Brazzaville—Information Bulletin 5

14. Restaurants

• Olympic Palace : Tel. : 222 81 34 36 / 06 660 66 71

• Le Jardin des saveurs : Opposite Olympic Palace Hotel, Tel. : 05 525 22 61 / 06 681 17 74

• Mami Wata : On the corniche behind Crédit du Congo, at the banks of the Congo river,

Tel. : 05 579 35 38

• Terminalia : beside the city hall, Tel. : 05 396 27 27

• Hippocampe : Tel. : 06 668 60 68

• La Mandarine : Avenue Foch, Tel. : 222 81 13 40

• Nénuphar : At plateau centre Ville, Tel. : 222 81 09 15

• O Sympathic : beside the CNSS building in the city center, Tel. : 06 677 81 43

15. Clinics

• Net Care : Face to SNDE voir CHU, Tel. : 05 547 09 11

• COGEMO : Tel. : 06 665 60 46

16. Useful Contacts at WHO Regional Office for Africa Réception Tél. : 06 508 11 14 M. Razakamanantsoa Andry Services administratifs Tél. : 06 508 10 96 Mme Eniko Toth, Service des Conférences et Protocole Tél. : 06 508 10 53 M. Diakité Saidou, 06 5081008 Mrs Nitcheu Gisele, RSU/DPC, 06 6738509 Ms Mouele Lolo, A/Travel, 06 6928908 Ms. IVORA MAROUNDOU Carole,/ 05 587 40 52 M. Frédéric Diakoundila, Transport Tél. : 06 661 38 13 M. Abdoulaye Doumbia, Sécurité (FSO) Tél. : 06 508 10 87 Dr Roland Rizet, Médecin régional Tél. : 06 660 68 08 Mme Minata Traoré, Infirmière principale Tél. : 06 660 68 05 Mme Paulette Pedro, Infirmière Tel. : 06 666 39 13 Site Internet du Bureau régional: http://www.afro.who.int/