Suicide Hotlines and Crisis Lines in Uganda

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 Uganda, 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 of these numbers are toll-free and for others no cost is published.

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 UGANDA

Each number below was checked in August 2026 at the operating organisation's own website, or at the government ministry page that runs the service.

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

Emergency numbers, and what each one is for

Mental Health Uganda, weekdays 8:30am to 5:00pm

Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital, 0800 211 306

Sauti 116, for children and survivors of violence

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

Police and general emergency: 999 or 112

The Uganda Police Force publishes both numbers together on its own website, in the contact block for its headquarters. Either reaches the police.

Fire and rescue: 0800121222

This toll-free number is published on the police force's own site. The page carrying it dates from 2018, and the force's current emergency-numbers page could not be checked, so it is verified as published rather than as current.

Ambulance: no national ambulance number could be verified on an official Ugandan page. If someone needs urgent medical help, dial 999 or 112, or get to the nearest hospital emergency department.

Uganda has no national three-digit mental health number that we could verify. The nearest thing is Butabika's toll-free line, below.

Mental Health Uganda, weekdays 8:30am to 5:00pm

Mental Health Uganda runs a toll-free counselling helpline for the whole country, answered by counsellors. In its own words: "If you need to talk, the Toll-free Helpline is here."

The organisation describes the line this way: "Life's challenges can feel overwhelming at times. Whether you're facing mental health struggles or emotional distress, our caring counselors are here for you."

The line keeps office hours on weekdays. It is not a night or weekend service.

Tel: 0800 21 21 21

WhatsApp: 256706708961, the channel the organisation labels "MHU Counseling". No hours or response times are published for it, so do not rely on it for an urgent reply.

Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm.

Cost: the organisation publishes the line as toll-free, in its own words "Call toll-free 0800 21 21 21". Whether it is toll-free on every network is not published.

Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital, 0800 211 306

Butabika is Uganda's national referral mental hospital, a public psychiatric hospital "funded by the Government of Uganda and administered by the Ministry of Health". Its toll-free number is the front door to a mental health call centre.

The hospital describes the call centre as providing "remote technology-enabled support to individuals experiencing mental health challenges", expanding "access to care especially in underserved communities".

Tel: 0800 211 306, the number the hospital labels its Toll Free Line.

Hours: not published for the call centre. The hospital states that the hospital itself is open 24/7/365, but that is a statement about the hospital, so do not assume the phone line answers at night.

Cost: the line is labelled toll-free. Of the hospital itself, its own page says "General care in the hospital is free". No separate cost statement is published for the call centre.

Sauti 116, for children and survivors of violence

Sauti 116 is the Uganda Child Helpline, run by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development. It is a child protection and violence line, not a general mental health or suicide line, and it is the only service on this page verified to answer at night.

In the ministry's words, the service "offers a confidential mechanism through which children can report abuse and access supportive services and resources including but not limited to counselling, rescue, health and justice services". The ministry states that the short code "was designated as an emergency number for children".

If you are a child in distress, or an adult worried about a child, or a survivor of abuse or gender-based violence, this line is for you.

Tel: 116

Hours: in the ministry's words, "The telephone service operates 24/7".

Cost: the ministry describes it as a "toll-free telephone service on the short code 116 which is accessible on all telecommunication networks in the country".

While you are waiting to be answered

The mental health lines on this page keep daytime hours, and a line that is open can still be busy. 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 999 or 112, 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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