Suicide Hotlines and Crisis Lines in the United Arab Emirates

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, health staff or protection officers, depending on the service. If you are not in the UAE, 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. Where a service publishes what it costs, or which languages it is answered in, that is set out beside it below. Where it does not, this page says so rather than guessing.

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 THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Each number below was checked in August 2026 at the operating organisation's own website, or at the federal or emirate government 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

Itma'en 800506, for readers in Dubai

800 SAKINA, announced for Abu Dhabi

Child protection lines, nationwide

Shelters and support for women and children

Protection lines by emirate

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

The federal government portal publishes six emergency numbers. They carry no emirate qualification, so they apply across the country.

Police: 999

Ambulance: 998

Fire department, civil defence: 997

Coastguard: 996

Search and rescue: 995 — the government page prints this one as "Find and Rescue".

Electricity failure: 991

You may see 112 listed as a UAE emergency number on other websites. It is not on the federal government's own emergency page, so it is not listed here. Use 999 or 998.

Itma'en 800506, for readers in Dubai

Itma'en is operated jointly by Dubai Health, the Community Development Authority and the Dubai Health Authority. It was introduced in March 2026 and it is the best-evidenced mental health line in the UAE: both Dubai Health and the Dubai Media Office publish the same number, hours, cost and languages.

Dubai Health describes it as confidential mental wellbeing guidance where "Callers can speak directly with specialised counsellors to receive guidance and reassurance, while cases requiring medical follow-up are referred to the appropriate specialised teams for evaluation and further care."

The service is open to "citizens, residents, and visitors", which matters if you are here on a work or visit visa rather than as a citizen.

Read the hours before you rely on it. This is not a round-the-clock line, and it closes at midnight.

Tel: 800506

Hours: daily from 9:00 am to midnight.

Cost: "provided free of charge", in Dubai Health's own words.

Languages: Arabic and English.

Scope: Dubai. No page claims coverage beyond the emirate.

800 SAKINA, announced for Abu Dhabi

Sakina is a mental health network under SEHA, working with the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. In March 2026 the Department of Health announced a mental health support hotline under the Sakina name, and the Abu Dhabi Government Media Office announced the same thing on the same day.

The Department of Health described the line as offering "psychological first aid as well as compassionate and direct access to qualified mental health professionals", with "dedicated services to support children and families". Callers may raise "anxiety, panic, stress, difficulty sleeping or any other mental health concerns". Both announcements describe it as a 24/7 hotline answered in Arabic and English.

Its current status is not settled, and you should know that before you dial. Sakina's own website was checked again in August 2026 and it does not carry this hotline number anywhere, five months after the announcement. That is not proof the line has closed, and it is not the clean confirmation we would want before putting a number at the top of a page someone phones in a crisis. It is listed here because two official Abu Dhabi bodies published it, and it is listed second rather than first because the operator does not currently publish it. If it does not answer, use 998 or 999, or Itma'en above if you are in Dubai.

Tel: 800 725462, also written as 800-SAKINA.

Hours: announced as 24/7 by the Department of Health and the Abu Dhabi Government Media Office.

Cost: not published.

Languages: announced as "bilingual, offering support in both Arabic and English".

Scope: Abu Dhabi. No page claims coverage beyond the emirate.

Child protection lines, nationwide

These are federal ministry lines, listed on the national government portal without any emirate qualification. They are reporting and protection routes rather than counselling lines, and they are run by government bodies.

Ministry of Interior Child Protection Centre: 116111 — the portal states, "You can report child abuse to MoI through the hotline number 116111". The ministry also names a reporting app.

Child Protection Unit, Ministry of Education: 80085 — the portal states, "To report a bullying incident, please contact the Child Protection Unit, Ministry of Education at 80085."

Ministry of Education, for schoolchildren: 80051115 — the same page states that "Schoolchildren can use the hotline number 80051115 to communicate directly with Ministry of Education".

Hours, cost and languages: not published for any of the three.

Shelters and support for women and children

EWAA Shelter for Women and Children: 8007283

A shelter service for women and children. Its shelters are in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, but the federal portal lists the hotline alongside the ministry lines rather than under one emirate. Hours, cost and languages are not published. You may see a longer list of languages elsewhere; the shelter does not publish one on the pages checked, so none is claimed here.

Dubai Foundation for Women and Children: 800111

A shelter and support service for women and children affected by violence and abuse. The federal portal lists it under Dubai. The organisation's own website could not be opened when this page was checked, so its wider coverage claim is not carried here. Hours, cost and languages are not published.

Protection lines by emirate

All five are published on the federal government portal's children's safety page and are quoted here as printed there. Hours, cost and languages are not published for any of them.

Dubai, Community Development Authority: 800988

Sharjah, child protection centre: 800 700 — the portal calls this a toll-free helpline.

Ajman, Hemaya Foundation for Children and Women: 800446292, written on the portal as 800himaya.

Ras Al Khaimah, Aman Centre through RAK Police: 07-2356666

Abu Dhabi, Zayed Higher Organisation, for children of determination: 054-2003366, which the portal names as both a hotline and a WhatsApp number.

While you are waiting to be answered

One of the two mental health lines keeps set 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 998, 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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