Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern leads the way on public AED access
Germany is getting its first statewide public AED network, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is leading the charge. In a landmark partnership announced at an official government press conference, NOFiAS e.V. and Lotto Mecklenburg-Vorpommern have committed to placing defibrillators across the entire federal state, from city centres to the most remote villages, across 10 projects and with the full backing of two state ministers.
Frederik Schlichting, voorzitter NOFiAS e.V.
“Every village a defi. AEDs should be within reach across the state as silent guardians of life.”
A first in Germany and a blueprint for the rest
Cardiac arrest does not announce itself. It strikes in parks, supermarkets, sports halls and shopping galleries, with no regard for location or circumstance. In most cases, the difference between life and death comes down to a single question: is there a defibrillator nearby, and does someone know how to use it? In rural Germany, that combination is still far from guaranteed. On average, emergency services take eight minutes or more to arrive. Within three to five minutes without blood flow, irreversible brain damage begins. That gap is exactly what Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has decided to close.
At a press conference of the Finanzministerium Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Health Minister Stefanie Drese and Finance Minister Dr. Heiko Geue stood alongside NOFiAS e.V. and Lotto Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to announce a strategic cooperation that makes history. Under the banner "MV zeigt Herz" (MV shows heart), the partnership will roll out a fully integrated, publicly accessible AED network across the state, the first of its kind in Germany. Across 10 projects, it brings together training and awareness campaigns, a strengthened organised first responder system, and AEDs connected directly to the regional emergency dispatch centre. The goal is unambiguous:
Health Minister Drese
“The most important thing is the courage to act. Every bit of help counts, and every additional defibrillator in the right place makes that help more likely to arrive in time.”
On 2 September 2026, NOFiAS e.V. will make that message impossible to ignore. At the Marienplatz-Galerie in Schwerin, first responders will attempt a world record in CPR, performing continuous resuscitation in relay for 80 hours under official supervision of the Rekord-Institut für Deutschland, together with DRK Kreisverband Schwerin and supported by Lotto MV. The event is open to everyone and built around one simple truth: resuscitation is something anyone can learn, and the more people who know it, the more lives get saved.
For Rotaid, "MV zeigt Herz" is exactly the kind of initiative the world needs more of. A rural federal state, two committed ministers, a lottery organisation willing to invest where it matters, and a non-profit with a vision clear enough to put on a banner: every village, a defibrillator. This is what building a heartsafe society looks like, and we are proud to see Germany leading the way.
