Suicide Hotlines and Crisis Lines in Iraq

A helpline is a place to talk to someone when you are struggling, before or instead of a crisis. The lines on this page are answered by counsellors, social workers or health staff, depending on the service. If you are not in Iraq, the worldwide list is organised by country.

What you share is kept private in almost all cases; if a counsellor believes a life is in immediate danger, they may arrange urgent help. What each service costs is set out beside it below, because some publish that they are free and others publish nothing about cost.

One thing about Iraq matters for every number on this page. Federal Iraq, which includes Baghdad and the south and centre governorates, and the Kurdistan Region, which includes Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok and Halabja, run separate health ministries and separate hotlines. A number that answers in Erbil does not answer in Basra, so each entry below says which administration runs it.

TherapyRoute is a directory. We do not answer calls or messages ourselves, so please use the numbers below rather than contacting us if you need someone now.

CRISIS LINES, SUICIDE HOTLINES, AND HELPLINES IN IRAQ

Each number below was checked in August 2026 at the operating organisation's own website, or at the federal or Kurdistan Regional Government page that runs the service.

Notice an error or a missing service? Please tell us so we can correct it.

Emergency numbers, and which part of Iraq each one covers

The 119 hotline for violence and family crisis, Kurdistan Region

Child Hot Line 116, Kurdistan Region

Youth Health Helpdesk 80000111, for adolescents and young people

While you are waiting to be answered

If you are worried about someone else

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Emergency numbers, and which part of Iraq each one covers

Federal Iraq: 911

This is رقم الطوارئ الموحد, the unified emergency number, operated by مديرية الاستجابة والسيطرة المركزي - وزارة الداخلية, the Central Response and Control Directorate of the Ministry of Interior. The government's own services portal lists it as answering 24 ساعة, 24 hours. UNHCR Iraq gives the same direction: "South and Centre governorates: Call 911."

Separate short codes for police, ambulance and fire circulate widely for Iraq. The Iraqi government portal we could read lists only 911, so 911 is the number we can print.

Kurdistan Region, Erbil: 122

Erbil's 122 line is a centre inside the city's Directorate General of Health. In the Kurdistan Regional Government's own words, it "offers emergency services to people who face urgent and life-threatening health conditions". It is an ambulance and emergency-care number, not a mental health line. The main centre is responsible for the city of Erbil, with further emergency centres on roads out of the city, and it is not established as region-wide.

The 119 hotline for violence and family crisis, Kurdistan Region

The Directorate for Combating Violence against Women and Families is a Kurdistan Regional Government body, established in late 2018. Its 119 hotline is the only round-the-clock helpline in Iraq we could verify from a government or operator page.

In the KRG's own words, "The 119 hotline in the Kurdistan Region offers a free, round-the-clock support service dedicated to providing immediate assistance to individuals facing violence or family-related challenges." This is a scoped line, for violence and family crisis, rather than a general mental health line.

The KRG's page says that people "of any race, ethnicity, or language who are experiencing violence, threats, or other challenges can call the hotline for guidance, assistance, or access to social, psychological, and legal counselling", and that the directorate "is staffed by skilled professionals specialising in legal, social, and psychological fields".

Tel: 119

Coverage: Kurdistan Region only. The KRG's page says the directorate operates in the Kurdistan Region and serves citizens across the Kurdistan Region. It does not answer for Baghdad, Basra or Mosul, where the number to dial is 911.

Hours: round-the-clock, in the KRG's own wording.

Cost: free, in the KRG's own wording.

Child Hot Line 116, Kurdistan Region

The Kurdistan Regional Government's Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs publishes 116 as its Child Hot Line on its own contact page. The ministry's page says nothing further about what the line does. UNHCR Iraq describes the same number as the Kurdistan Region's Child Protection Hotline, for "family and child-related support, including psychosocial help", so the description of its function rests on UNHCR rather than on the ministry.

Tel: 116

Coverage: Kurdistan Region only. The line is published by the KRG ministry, and UNHCR lists it under the Kurdistan Region while directing federal callers to 911.

Hours: not published for the line. The ministry's page prints office hours for the ministry itself, and those should not be assumed to apply to the hotline.

Cost: not published.

Youth Health Helpdesk 80000111, for adolescents and young people

This toll-free counselling line is run by Together to Protect Human and the Environment, a non-governmental organisation, in partnership with Iraq's Ministry of Health and supported by UNFPA. It is for adolescents and young people rather than adults.

The operator names "Mental Health & Stress - Confidential psychological support to help manage daily stress and pressure" as the first of its five support areas, alongside addiction, nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, and referral to specialists.

On who answers and on privacy, the operator's own words are that "A trained Ministry of Health counselor will respond professionally and confidentially", and that a caller "may call anonymously without providing any personal details".

Tel: 80000111

Coverage: not settled. The 2020 launch record says the line was launched by the Ministries of Health at the federal and Kurdistan Region levels, which reads as Iraq-wide. The operator's current page says only that it works in partnership with Iraq's Ministry of Health, and neither page states a geographic limit.

Hours: in the operator's words, "available throughout the week (hours may vary)". No clock times are published on the operator's current page.

Cost: "100% Free", in the operator's own words.

Languages: the operator publishes its pages in Arabic and English. The 2020 launch record describes counselling in Arabic and Kurdish.

While you are waiting to be answered

A line that is open can still be busy, and the youth line above does not publish clock times. If you are waiting, try to stay with someone you trust, or ask someone to sit with you until the call connects.

If you have anything near you that you could use to harm yourself, put it somewhere harder to reach, or ask someone else to hold it for you. Distance and time both help.

If waiting is not possible, dial 911 in federal Iraq or 122 in Erbil, or go to a hospital emergency department. You do not need an appointment and you do not need to explain yourself well.

If you are worried about someone else

Ask them directly. Asking someone whether they are thinking of suicide does not put the idea there, and it often comes as a relief to be asked plainly.

Listen more than you advise. You do not need the right words, and you are not expected to fix anything.

If they are willing, offer to sit with them while they call one of the numbers above, or to make the call together. If they are in immediate danger, treat it as you would any medical emergency.

Supporting someone through this is heavy, and it is reasonable to want support of your own. The same lines are open to you.

For services in other countries, see the list of helplines and suicide hotlines worldwide.

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