Who we are

MEDIZIN HILFT e.V.

Medizin Hilft e.V. is a nonprofit organization. The assistance we provide is guided purely by humanitarian principles and is independent of any political, world or religious views.

Medizin Hilft e.V. evolved from the commitment of a small group of doctors, who reached out and offered initial medical examinations to refugees who arrived in 2014. The refugees were housed in emergency accommodation, without any medical insurance, or a place to turn to for their health needs. From these small beginnings, a network of medical and non-medical helpers and cooperation partners grew, aiming to provide support to people without access to medical care due to structural gaps.

Another of our objectives is to highlight these gaps through our work and to take steps towards closing them. This is only possible thanks to the support of our volunteers, many of them Rotarians.

SOCIAL SUPPORT

People without access to the health-care system are some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and also often suffer the consequences of difficult situations in other areas of their lives. We aim to offer them comprehensive support in collaboration with our partners.

ADVOCACY WORK

Health is a fundamental human right. Together with our cooperation and network partners, our goal is to draw attention to the gaps in our health-care system and work towards closing them by publishing our anonymous data.

MEDICAL AID

Germany is not an exception, in that people from the most different backgrounds are not covered by health insurance. We offer them medical care in our open-med-Ambulanz in Zehlendorf, facilitated by volunteer doctors and donations.

HEALTH EDUCATION

Despite a legal right to health insurance, many people slip through the cracks in our complex health-care system. By offering advisory services, information events and materials, we aim to prevent this from happening and (re-)integrate them (back) into the state system.

How we help

We work locally in our designated drop-in centers, as well as in various Berlin-wide campaigns. Our open-med-Ambulanz in Berlin-Zehlendorf provides a low-threshold service for anyone with limited access to the health-care system.

We were able to open our doors thanks to generous support from the Rotary Foundation, and now operate it with our cooperation partner milaa gGmbH.

Within the framework of our initiative Medicine Helps Refugees we work across the city at several emergency and communal accommodation centers that lack medical facilities. At our designated drop-in centers we offer general and pediatric medical care for people without insurance, psycho-social help and a guidance system that aims to help integrate people who are entitled to health-care services into general practitioner and specialist medical provision.

Above and beyond this, we work all over Berlin and in the region with information events, our advocacy work and other one-off activities.

Our Team

Currently approx. 120 doctors, nursing staff and helpers volunteer their time for Medizin Hilft e.V. They are the heart of our organization and work in projects where the need is greatest. A board consisting of five members and two full-time staff coordinate the volunteers and our diverse projects.