Suicide Hotlines and Crisis Lines in Tanzania

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 or health staff, depending on the service. If you are not in Tanzania, 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. Both helplines on this page are free to call, and beside each one we set out what its operator publishes about cost, hours and who it is for.

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 TANZANIA

Each number below was checked in August 2026 at the operating organisation's own website, at the Ministry of Health, or in the communications regulator's official numbering plan.

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

Emergency numbers, and what each one is for

C-Sema, the National Child Helpline on 116

Wizara ya Afya, the Ministry of Health call centre on 199

While you are waiting to be answered

If you are worried about someone else

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Emergency numbers, and what each one is for

Tanzania sets its emergency short codes nationally, so the same numbers cover the mainland and Zanzibar. The communications regulator classifies them as life and safety services, free of charge and common to all operators, and the Tanzania Police Force publishes the same codes.

Police: 112

Fire services: 114

Ambulance: 115

Both official sources agree on all three, and the regulator's numbering plan of July 2026 marks each of them operational.

C-Sema, the National Child Helpline on 116

C-Sema operates Tanzania's National Child Helpline on the free short code 116. It is for children and young people, and for the adults around them. In C-Sema's own words, "Mostly parents and concerned community members contact the helpline for abuse reporting of information seeking."

C-Sema describes its team as "a dedicated team of counsellors, therapists and other professionals to assist children with any mental, physical and emotional issues". Callers are linked onward to social welfare officers, police gender and children's desks, and community organisations in their own locality.

The organisation states that "116 is free service available across all networks in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar". In Zanzibar it has worked since 2015 and serves the community under the brand of Childline Zanzibar.

Be clear about who this line is for before you call. Its published remit is children, young people and the adults concerned about them. Its operator does not present it as an adult suicide line.

Tel: 116

WhatsApp: +255 624 100 100

Chat: a web chat widget, labelled "Chat with us", at sematanzania.org

Email: info@sematanzania.org

Hours: in C-Sema's own words, "Our helpline is available 24/7 and is completely confidential."

Cost: free, in C-Sema's own words, and the regulator independently classifies 116 as free of charge.

Languages: not published. The site is in English and the organisation's name is Swahili.

Wizara ya Afya, the Ministry of Health call centre on 199

Wizara ya Afya, the Ministry of Health, runs a public health call centre on the free short code 199. In its World Suicide Prevention Day statement of September 2025, the Ministry describes it as "dawati la usaidizi wa kisaikolojia", a psychological support desk. Callers receive psychological education and counselling, or can send an SMS instead.

This is a government health line rather than a dedicated crisis service, and the Ministry's other material describes its wider role of giving the public health information by phone and message.

Tel: 199

SMS: 15061

Hours: not published. No Ministry page we read states when the line is answered.

Cost: free. The Ministry writes "namba 199 (bure)", number 199, free.

Languages: not published. All the Ministry's material describing this service is in Swahili, so do not count on being answered in English.

While you are waiting to be answered

A line that is open can still be busy, and one of these lines does not publish its hours. 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 112 or 115, 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 a child or young person is at risk, 116 is answered for exactly this, and adults are among its main callers. If someone is 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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