Roberts International Airport, about 35 miles outside of Monrovia, is closed. Limited daytime service via Monrovia's Spriggs Payne Airfield exists to Freetown, Sierra Leone and Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. No major international carriers serve Monrovia. Overland routes to Sierra Leone are closed to travel, while travel to Cote d'Ivoire, although reported open on some routes, is subject to strict border control by Ivoirian authorities. Hospitals have been looted and are barely able to provide services.
Medicines are scarce in most areas.
Doctors and hospitals often expect immediate cash payment for health services. U.S. medical insurance is not always valid outside the United States. In some cases, supplemental medical insurance with specific overseas and medical evacuation coverage has proven useful. Foreigners, including U.S. citizens, have been targets of street crime and violent robbery in their homes. Residential armed break-ins are common.