If you become ill or have a medical emergency at night or on a weekend, you have a large network of support services available in Germany. You can find an overview of the most important numbers and services here.
Important telephone numbers:
• Emergency medical service: 112
• Poison hotline: +49 30 19240
• Medical on-call service: 116 117
Pharmacies also have a night and emergency service.
The following are examples of medical emergencies (medizinische Notfälle):
- acute shortness of breath
- acute chest pain
- acute abdominal pain
- acute dizziness
- accidents and injuries
- complications during pregnancy
- acute mental distress
- acute danger of suicide
- drug-related emergency
- allergic shock
- loss of consciousness or coma
In these cases you should seek immediate help by calling an ambulance or going to a doctor or a hospital emergency room.
Important: please ask the staff of your reception centre who is responsible there in case of medical emergencies.
You can find more information, including medical vocabulary and telephone numbers at: migration-gesundheit.bund.de
Support for people who were affected by violence and threatened
With the Federal initiative "Protection of refugees in refugee accommodation", the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, together with UNICEF and other partners, has been campaigning since 2016 for the Protection of women, children, and other vulnerable groups in accommodation centers . Extensive information and practical materials can be found on the website of the Federal initiative. In the project "Decentralized advice and support structure for protection against violence in refugee accommodation", opinion leaders (multipliers) for protection against violence also advise nationwide in 15 federal states on the development and implementation of protection against violence concepts on site. They support the setting up of local network structures and organize awareness and training measures.
The hotline 08000 116 016 is available as an important first point of contact for women affected by violence, its environment, and specialists - also in the context of escape and migration. Those seeking advice can contact one of the counselors anonymously and free of charge 24/7. The offerings are available in 17 foreign languages, including Russian, Polish, and English. Advice is given regarding all forms of violence PDF, 294 KB, not barrier-free - including trafficking of women, sexualized and domestic violence, and forced prostitution. If necessary, the counselors put the callers in touch with local support facilities. The "Violence against women" helpline is a nationwide counseling service.
Opinion leaders (multipliers) will be informed by this overview about the current support options of the helpline for women who have fled Ukraine.
The nationwide coordination group against human trafficking e.V. (KOK) offers a Germany-wide overview of the specialized counseling centers for victims of human trafficking. It also provides information materials in German, English, and Ukrainian that contain information about the dangers of human trafficking and provide support options for people of all nationalities. The KOK is also involved and raises awareness in the "Alliance4Ukraine", a coordinating alliance of over 150 organizations.
The coordination group trains authorities and aid organizations in identifying victims. The local cooperation between the police and the KOK, which is supported by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, has been intensified.
Specialised counselling centres for trafficked persons PDF, 2 MB, not barrier-free
If you witnessed or experienced war crimes in Ukraine, you can report them to any police station. Your information helps to punish crimes.