Ministry of Health Tightens Licences for Private Mental Health Centres

Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar has ordered the formation of a committee to regulate licensing of private mental health facilities, with the aim to enforce stricter licensing on non-state-run locations.

Among the new committee’s aims is to establish controls for automating private facilities and registering patients on a centralised system.

Egypt currently has 223 mental health facilities with a total capacity of 11,628 beds. Of that number, the capacity for addiction treatment and rehabilitation stands at 1,747 beds in government facilities, and 4,508 beds in private facilities. In 2023, 55,057 cases were admitted to psychiatric treatment facilities; 19,528 in government facilities, and 35,529 in private facilities.