Suicide Hotlines and Crisis Lines in Zimbabwe

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, volunteers or clinic staff, depending on the service. If you are not in Zimbabwe, 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 in Zimbabwe several of these numbers are toll-free on one mobile network and not on another.

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 ZIMBABWE

Each number below was checked in August 2026 at the operating organisation's own website, or on the Zimbabwe government portal that publishes the emergency numbers.

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

Emergency numbers, and what each one is for

Youth Advocates, 393, for young people

Childline Zimbabwe, 116, for children

Musasa, for women and girls facing violence

Adult Rape Clinic, for survivors of sexual violence

National Gender-Based Violence Call Centre, 575

Friendship Bench, talking therapy by appointment

CONTACT Family Counselling Centre, Bulawayo

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 Zimbabwe government portal publishes several emergency numbers rather than one. Two of them work only on one mobile network, so it is worth knowing which is which before you need them.

All emergencies: 999

This is the only number the portal describes as covering all emergencies. If you remember one number, remember this one.

Emergency, Econet subscribers: 112 — published as a toll-free number for Econet subscribers.

Emergency, NetOne subscribers: 114 — published as a toll-free number for NetOne subscribers.

The portal lists these two separately, by network. They are not interchangeable, and neither is presented as a number for everyone.

Emergency, toll-free landline: 0800 3222 911

Police: 995

Fire department: 993

Ambulance: the government portal publishes no short code for an ambulance. What it lists instead are the depot numbers of private ambulance companies, city by city. If you need an ambulance, 999 is the number the portal presents as covering all emergencies, and a hospital emergency department can be reached directly.

These numbers were read on the government portal in August 2026. The page is undated and prints some Harare landline numbers in an older form, so treat the short codes as the reliable part of it.

Youth Advocates, 393, for young people

Youth Advocates is a youth-led organisation that runs the 393 helpline. It is the broadest of the lines on this page that answers at any hour, and it covers mental health alongside sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence and substance abuse. The organisation does not publish the age range it means by young people, so if you are unsure whether the line is for you, it is reasonable to call and ask.

In its own words, the service is "Free, confidential, 24/7. Voice, WhatsApp, chatbot, and IVR in Shona, Ndebele, and English. Every contact is human-supported. 72-hour case follow-up is standard."

Tel: 393 — the organisation's call widget labels this "393 CALL FREE".

Tel: 0777 469 107

WhatsApp: +2630777469107 — this is the number exactly as Youth Advocates publishes it, and it keeps the national trunk zero after the country code. In that form it will not connect from outside Zimbabwe. We have not altered it, because it is what the organisation prints on its own page. If you are calling from abroad and the WhatsApp number does not work, the local number above is the one to try.

Hours: the organisation publishes the line as answered at all hours, every day.

Cost: free, in the organisation's own words.

Languages: Shona, Ndebele and English.

Childline Zimbabwe, 116, for children

Childline Zimbabwe runs the country's helpline for children. Its own page says that "Trained volunteer counselors provide multi-lingual counseling in English, Shona and Ndebele", and describes 116 as "a telephone-based crisis line that is available 24hours a day, every day of the year." Childline is also the organisation LifeLine International names as its member in Zimbabwe.

The helpline reaches the whole country. Childline states that "116 is available from all phones operating in Zimbabwe (including fixed Telone landlines and all mobile phones".

Alongside the telephone line, Childline runs a live chat and drop-in centres, both of which keep shorter hours than the line itself.

Tel: 116

WhatsApp: +263 719 116 116

WhatsApp: +263 732 116 116

Childline publishes these two WhatsApp numbers as a pair, one for Harare and one for Bulawayo, without saying which is which. We have not guessed.

Chat: childline.org.zw/chat

Tel: +263 242 252000 — head office landline.

Tel: (0292) 880052 — Bulawayo.

Hours: the telephone line, in Childline's words, is "available 24hours a day, every day of the year." The live chat runs "between 8am - 5pm". The drop-in centres "operate normal working hours, from 8:30am till 4:30pm from Mondays to Fridays."

Cost: "The Helpline number is free of charge from any phone meaning it cost the caller nothing."

Languages: English, Shona and Ndebele.

Musasa, for women and girls facing violence

Musasa is a non-governmental organisation set up in 1988 that responds to violence against women and girls. Its own page states that "Our services include a 24-hour toll free line, counselling, legal support and shelter services." It works from five regional offices, in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare and Masvingo, alongside one-stop centres, district offices and shelters.

Musasa publishes a different toll-free number for each mobile network, and they are not interchangeable. Use the one for the network you are calling from.

Tel: 08080074 — Econet.

Tel: 08010074 — NetOne.

Tel: 0731080074 — Telecel.

Tel: (0242) 706284 — office line.

Hours: Musasa describes the line as a 24-hour one. It publishes no clock times.

Cost: toll-free, in the organisation's own words, on the three network numbers above. Nothing is published about the cost of the office line.

Adult Rape Clinic, for survivors of sexual violence

The Adult Rape Clinic is based at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare, with sites in Kadoma, Gokwe, Masvingo and Mutare. Its own page says that "The clinic offers confidential psycho and medical care to survivors of sexual violence. Services are offered regardless of whether or not one has reported to the police." It offers counselling "to help deal with feelings of anger, helplessness, fear and shame caused by rape; whether it happened last night, last week or years ago".

You do not have to have reported anything to anyone to call.

Tel: 08080472 — the clinic labels this "24-Hour Toll Free Line", and prints it as "Free for Econet".

Tel: 0775 672 770 — the clinic marks this one as working on all networks. It publishes nothing about what a call to it costs.

Tel: +263 242 793572

Tel: +263 775 672 770

Tel: +263 733 406 292

Hours: the clinic labels 08080472 a 24-hour line. It separately notes that its written channels are not staffed at all hours, so a letter or a contact form is answered as soon as someone can get to it.

National Gender-Based Violence Call Centre, 575

Zimbabwe runs a national call centre for gender-based violence on the short code 575. The Zimbabwe Republic Police also publishes toll-free numbers for its Victim Friendly Unit, the police service that handles these cases.

One thing to know before you rely on these numbers: we could not verify them at a national government source, because the police and ministry websites would not load when this page was checked. They are published by Masvingo City Council, a Zimbabwean local authority, on its own helplines page, and that is the source for what follows.

Tel: 575 — the National Gender-Based Violence Call Centre.

Tel: 08080544 — Victim Friendly Unit, from Econet.

Tel: 08010149 — Victim Friendly Unit, from NetOne.

Tel: 0735342874 — Victim Friendly Unit, from Telecel.

Hours: not published at the source we could verify.

Friendship Bench, talking therapy by appointment

Friendship Bench is Zimbabwe's best-known mental health service, and it is on this page because many readers will have heard of it. It is not a crisis line. Sessions are booked rather than answered on demand, and the service keeps weekday and Saturday-morning hours.

Its own page describes the online service as "Online, one-to-one treatment, delivered by Friendship Bench trained mental health supporters. Sessions are held on WhatsApp call or chat (country rates apply)." The way to start is the instruction the page prints: WhatsApp "I need to talk..." to the number below.

Friendship Bench says the service is "Designed for people struggling with mild-moderate depression, anxiety, as well as substance misuse, suicide ideation, emotional distress, relationship difficulties or people who have poor quality of life due to the emotional distress brought on by chronic medical illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, or HIV/AIDS". It also says, in its own words, "This service is not a substitute for professional help."

If you need someone tonight, use the emergency numbers at the top of this page. If what you need is a course of talking sessions, this is a route to one.

WhatsApp: +263 784 845 294

Hours: 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am to 12pm on Saturday.

Cost: "All sessions are free", with the qualifier the organisation prints on the same page, that country rates apply to the WhatsApp call or chat.

Languages: English, Shona and Ndebele.

CONTACT Family Counselling Centre, Bulawayo

CONTACT Family Counselling Centre has operated in Bulawayo since 1993, offering "Confidential individual and family counselling", child protection casework and training. It publishes one address, at 9 Barbour Ave, Parkview, and makes no claim to cover the country, so this is a service for readers in and around Bulawayo.

The toll-free number below is published under the heading "Report Abuse and Help Protect Others", alongside a safeguarding email address. It is a route for reporting abuse rather than a general counselling line, and it is worth knowing that before you dial.

Tel: 08010187 — the centre labels this its toll-free helpline.

Tel: +263 71 262 9303

Tel: +263 29-2272400

Tel: +263 29-2881842

Email: safeguarding@contactfcc.co.zw

Hours: not published.

Cost: toll-free is published for 08010187 only. Nothing is published about the other numbers.

While you are waiting to be answered

Some of these lines keep office 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 on Econet or 114 on NetOne, 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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