🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau Healthcare Guide
Simao Mendes National Hospital in Bissau is the country's main facility, but it operates with severe limitations in equipment and staffing. Healthcare outside Bissau is effectively basic first-line care only, with small health posts in regional towns. Yellow Fever vaccination is required. Carrying your full medication supply and a personal medical kit, along with having your medical summary available in Portuguese and accessible offline, covers you for a system where even the capital's facilities face regular shortages.
Quick facts
- Emergency number: 112
- Healthcare system: limited
- Average GP visit: $15 USD
- EHIC/GHIC accepted: No
- Language barrier: medium
Healthcare overview
Hospital Nacional Simão Mendes in Bissau is the country’s main hospital, providing basic care. Healthcare across Guinea-Bissau is among the most limited in West Africa. The Bijagós Archipelago has minimal medical access. Private clinics in Bissau supplement the hospital but capabilities remain constrained. GP visits cost $5–15.
Very limited healthcare system
Guinea-Bissau’s healthcare is among West Africa’s most constrained. Even Bissau’s main hospital operates with limited resources.
Bijagós Archipelago
The Bijagós islands have basic health posts only. Any serious issue requires transfer to Bissau, dependent on boat availability.
Vaccinations
Required
- Yellow Fever
Recommended
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Typhoid
- Malaria prophylaxis
- Meningitis
- Rabies
Prescriptions and pharmacies
Bissau has pharmacies with basic medications following Portuguese conventions. Stock is limited. Carry your complete medication supply. Having your medication list in Portuguese helps pharmacists match available products.
Portuguese pharmaceutical naming
Guinea-Bissau follows Portuguese pharmaceutical conventions. A medication list in Portuguese is more useful than English at local pharmacies.
Tips for travellers
Specialist care is effectively unavailable in Guinea-Bissau. For any complex condition, Dakar (Senegal, 1 hour by air) is the nearest capable referral hub. Having your treatment plan accessible in Portuguese and French covers both Guinea-Bissau’s providers and Dakar’s French-language specialists.
Dakar as lifeline
Dakar is Guinea-Bissau’s primary medical referral destination, accessible by direct flight and offering significantly stronger specialist capabilities.