In response to the inhumane situation whereby refugees in Germany without residence permits are denied the fundamental right to adequate medical care, the human rights initiative MediNetzBonn was founded in Bonn in the summer of 2003.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, 72,000 people in Germany have no health insurance and no other entitlement to healthcare. Organisations such as Doctors of the World estimate that the actual number of people without health insurance is in the hundreds of thousands, as the Federal Statistical Office only surveys people with a registered address. Added to this are numerous people who have only limited health insurance cover and who, for example, are unable to access preventive medical check-ups.

For many of these people, illness becomes a security risk and a personal disaster, as they are often unable to take out health insurance without risking contact with the authorities and a check of their personal details. For those with an insecure residence status, this can, in the worst case, result in deportation.

Health knows no residence status! Everyone has the right to adequate medical care!

Our response

We have established a network of healthcare professionals in Bonn to provide free and anonymous medical, psychological and dental treatment to people without papers or with an uncertain residency status. We see our role as providing unbureaucratic advice and arranging appointments with specialists. Where necessary, we can also arrange for interpreters in individual cases.

The anonymity of the counselling is guaranteed in all cases. MediNetzBonn does not pass on any information to state authorities. Our counselling and referral service is independent of political parties, churches or other institutions.

From the very beginning, alongside practical medical assistance, political advocacy has been a key priority for MediNetzBonn. Guided by the conviction that ‘all people are born with equal rights’, MediNetzBonn e.V. advocates on behalf of people without adequate health insurance. This commitment focuses in particular on the demand for free access to the German healthcare and education systems.

You can find regular updates on our association’s work and current developments on Instagram and in our annual newsletter.