Country guide — Africa and the Indian Ocean

Expat insurance and health insurance in Togo

Quiet residential street in a district of Lomé, colourful facades of Togolese architecture, shaded alley with no recognisable people

In short

Togo imposes no health insurance as a legal condition of entry for a French national, but France Diplomatie describes comprehensive cover of hospitalisation and health costs, as well as medical repatriation, as 'essential', stating that these costs can never be covered by the French embassy on the ground. The France-Togo social security agreement, signed on 7 December 1971, coordinates disability, old age-survivors, maternity, family benefits and workplace accidents/occupational diseases, but contains, according to CLEISS, no coordination provision for the health branch nor for death insurance — only an additional protocol maintains certain cash health insurance benefits for 6 months when transferring residence. The Togolese health system is organised into 6 health regions under a three-tier pyramid, with a public sector covering around 59% of care provision (2015 health map) and Lomé's CHU Sylvanus Olympio as the main reference facility; the north of the country is also subject to security restrictions that in practice limit medical evacuation capacity. The consular register of French nationals in Togo is rising slightly, which further increases the stakes of suitable health cover before departure.

Source : France Diplomatie — Togo, Travel advice, Health

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Key figures

2,429 French nationals registered with the consular register in 2025 (+1.21% year-on-year).
Life expectancy at birth: 62.94 years in 2024.
Current health spending: USD 59.61 per capita in 2023 (6.11% of GDP).

Local healthcare system

The Togolese health system is organised into 6 health regions (Savanes, Kara, Centrale, Plateaux, Maritime and Lomé-Commune), mirroring the country's administrative divisions, and rests on a three-tier pyramid: central, intermediate and peripheral. According to the provisional results of the 2015 health map (the most recent data identified), care is provided by the public (59%) and private (41%) subsectors. In Lomé, the CHU Sylvanus Olympio (CHU-SO) is the country's largest hospital, with over 1,000 beds, a 24-hour emergency department and over 100,000 consultations per year; it acts as a level-3 reference centre for highly specialised care, while facing, according to several sources, equipment, infrastructure and staffing difficulties. The CHU Campus in Lomé is one of the country's three teaching hospitals. Togo's Ministry of Health has launched a Hospital Facilities Project (PEH) aiming to modernise and reorganise the country's entire network of health facilities. France Diplomatie does not publish a detailed assessment of the quality of Togolese hospital equipment, but stresses that insurance covering all medical costs and repatriation is essential, as the embassy can never cover these costs.

Legal and visa obligations

Mandatory visa before departure, to apply for online via the official voyage.gouv.tg platform, at least 5 days before departure. Since April 2024, express visas and visas on arrival are no longer available.
Passport valid at least 6 months after the planned return date, and mandatory yellow fever vaccination (international vaccination card required on entry).
Short-term visas (48 hours or 7 days) can be extended up to 30 days with the Directorate General of National Documentation in Lomé; beyond 90 days, a long-stay visa is required.
No health insurance is formally required for the visa or entry, but France Diplomatie states it is essential to have an assistance contract or insurance covering all medical costs, including hospitalisation and medical repatriation, as these costs can never be covered by the embassy.
Recommended vaccinations depending on exposure: hepatitis A, typhoid fever, hepatitis B, meningitis ACWY, tuberculosis (children under 15), rabies, chikungunya, dengue and Mpox.
CFE recommended alongside private insurance, with an assisted category on consular application for low-income households.

Heightened health vigilance: vector-borne diseases (chikungunya, dengue, yellow fever, malaria, zika), cholera (contaminated water and food), typhoid fever, Lassa fever (contact with infected rodents), meningitis, Mpox and rabies (animal contact); a notable prevalence of HIV is also reported.

Security context, addressed here only from the angle of access to care: France Diplomatie formally advises against the Triple Border area (Burkina Faso/Togo/Benin and Burkina Faso/Togo/Ghana) as well as the Sinkassé-Mandouri border post, due to the terrorist threat in northern Togo and a kidnapping risk. The entire Savanes region is advised against unless essential: foreign nationals' travel there is subject to written authorisation from the Togolese military authorities and night travel is prohibited — restrictions that in practice limit the capacity for rapid medical evacuation in these regions. The rest of the country, including Lomé's seafront, is under heightened vigilance (cases of knife attacks reported).

Cost of some medical procedures

Orders of magnitude from specialised sources, not official fee schedules.

Cost of some medical procedures in Togo, public and private sector
Procedure	Public sector	Private sector
GP consultation (public sector)	modest flat rate, not precisely disclosed	—
GP consultation (private clinic, Lomé)	—	rate varies by facility, not publicly disclosed
Specialist consultation	—	rate varies by facility, not publicly disclosed
Hospitalisation / room	rate varies by facility, not publicly disclosed	rate varies by facility, not publicly disclosed
Emergency care (CHU Sylvanus Olympio)	rate varies by facility, not publicly disclosed	—
Medical evacuation to France (serious case)	—	high cost (generally several tens of thousands of euros depending on distance and severity), amount not precisely disclosed — the main reason cover is described as 'essential' according to France Diplomatie

Social security agreements with France

The France-Togo social security agreement, signed on 7 December 1971, coordinates the disability (articles 7 to 11), old age-survivors (articles 12 to 18), maternity (articles 22 to 26), family benefits (articles 27 to 30) and workplace accidents/occupational diseases (articles 31 to 38) branches.

According to CLEISS, the France-Togo agreement contains no coordination provision for the health branch nor for death insurance: no reimbursement of care received in Togo under French health insurance is provided for by this text.
An additional protocol only provides for the maintenance of certain cash health insurance benefits for a limited period of 6 months when transferring residence between the two countries.
Unemployment insurance is explicitly excluded from the scope of the agreement.

Which insurance for my profile

General matrix — does not recommend any specific product or insurer.

Which insurance by profile, for Togo
Profile	Regulatory constraint	Points of attention
Working holiday visa	No France-Togo agreement identified	Not applicable
Student	Mandatory visa (voyage.gouv.tg) and yellow fever vaccination; no health insurance formally required for the visa	Health and repatriation insurance strongly recommended; the agreement does not coordinate the health branch
Seconded employee / expat	The agreement coordinates disability, old age-survivors, maternity, family benefits and workplace accidents/occupational diseases, but no health coordination provision	CFE or private insurance essential for effective cover of care in Togo
Retiree	No reimbursement of care received in Togo via the agreement, beyond the 6-month maintenance when transferring residence	CFE or private insurance essential
Family with children	Mandatory yellow fever vaccination for all members, including children	Check each member's cover, particularly for malaria and medical evacuation

Hospitals and care network

CHU Sylvanus Olympio (CHU-SO, Lomé) — the country's largest hospital, over 1,000 beds, 24-hour emergency department and over 100,000 consultations per year; level-3 reference centre for highly specialised care.
CHU Campus in Lomé — one of the country's three teaching hospitals.
Bè Hospital (Lomé) — secondary reference hospital for the Lomé municipality.

Practical steps

Before departure: yellow fever vaccination, passport valid at least 6 months after return, online visa application via voyage.gouv.tg (at least 5 days before departure), and an assistance contract covering hospitalisation and repatriation / medical evacuation.
Before any travel to the north of the country (Savanes region): check France Diplomatie's travel advice and, where applicable, apply for the required written authorisation from the Togolese military authorities.
For a stay longer than 90 days: apply for a long-stay visa; for a short-term extension, contact the Directorate General of National Documentation in Lomé.
On arrival: registration recommended with the roll of French nationals living abroad (Lomé consulate general).
Voluntary CFE membership recommended, as the France-Togo agreement does not coordinate the health branch.

Frequently asked questions

Is health insurance mandatory to travel to Togo?

Not legally, either for the visa or for entry. But France Diplomatie states it is essential to have an assistance contract or insurance covering all medical costs, hospitalisation and medical repatriation, as these costs can never be covered by the embassy.

Does French social security cover me in Togo?

Not for routine care. According to CLEISS, the 1971 agreement contains no coordination provision for the health branch nor for death insurance; only an additional protocol maintains certain cash health insurance benefits for 6 months when transferring residence.

What exactly does the France-Togo agreement cover?

Disability, old age-survivors, maternity, family benefits and workplace accidents/occupational diseases. The health branch and death insurance are not coordinated, and unemployment insurance is out of scope.

What are the main hospitals to know in Togo?

CHU Sylvanus Olympio in Lomé is the country's largest hospital and main reference centre, alongside CHU Campus in Lomé, one of the three national teaching hospitals, and Bè Hospital for the Lomé municipality.

What happens in case of a serious medical emergency?

Medical evacuation may be necessary for serious cases, hence the essential nature of insurance explicitly covering this risk. In the north of the country (Savanes region), security restrictions and the requirement for written travel authorisation further limit the capacity for rapid evacuation.

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Written by Expavy

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