The move is part of a nationwide campaign launched by Health Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar to tighten oversight of private medical facilities, protect patients, and enforce compliance with professional and legal standards.
In a statement on Thursday, ministry spokesperson Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar said a joint inspection campaign conducted by the Free Treatment Department at the health directorates, in coordination with the National Council for Mental Health, led to the inspection and closure of 15 facilities.
Hisham Zaki, head of the Central Administration for Non-Governmental Medical Institutions and Licensing, said legal action has been taken against those responsible and that inspection campaigns will continue across all governorates.
He added that inspectors documented serious violations, including the absence of an appointed technical director, practicing medicine without proper licensing, shortcomings in infection control procedures, lack of required medical equipment, irregular or incomplete medical records, improper disposal of hazardous waste, and failure to correct previously recorded violations.
Ahmed Al-Nahhas, head of the Technical Secretariat of the National Council for Mental Health, said the facilities violated Law No. 51 of 1981, which regulates non-governmental medical establishments and their amendments, as well as Law No. 71 of 2009 on the care of psychiatric patients. They also breached infection control requirements and environmental regulations.
“These violations pose a real danger to the lives of residents,” Al-Nahhas said, stressing that unlicensed facilities operating outside the legal framework undermine patient safety and treatment standards.
He urged citizens to verify the licensing status of any treatment facility before seeking services and report complaints through the hotline 01207474740 (calls or WhatsApp) or via the official Facebook and Instagram pages of the National Council for Mental Health.
The latest closures are part of a widening nationwide crackdown on unlicensed addiction and psychiatric treatment centres following repeated safety violations and a deadly fire earlier this year.
In January, the Ministry of Health announced the shutdown of 32 unlicensed addiction and psychiatric facilities across Alexandria, Sharqiya, Beheira, and Dakahlia in coordinated inspection campaigns involving local health directorates, the National Council for Mental Health, and the Interior Ministry’s General Administration for Drug Control.
Inspectors found the facilities operating without licences and in breach of laws regulating private medical establishments and mental health services. Violations included the absence of qualified technical directors, poor infection-control standards, inadequate medical equipment, improper disposal of hazardous waste, and incomplete patient records.
The intensified enforcement followed a fire at an unlicensed addiction treatment centre in Benha, north of Cairo, that killed seven people and injured six others. Egypt’s Public Prosecution launched an investigation into the incident, stating the facility had been operating without the required permits.
Authorities have repeatedly warned that unlicensed rehabilitation centres pose serious risks due to unsafe accommodation conditions, lack of medical supervision, and the absence of emergency response systems.
While there is no official nationwide tally of illegal facilities, an academic study has estimated that more than 800 drug rehabilitation centres operate in Egypt, including both licensed and unlicensed institutions.
Officials say many unlicensed centres function from apartments, villas, or farms and often reopen under new names after closure, complicating regulatory oversight.
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