ABU ZAABAL — “This place is our whole life, and lately, we keep hearing talk that they will evict us ” A variation on this phrase is repeated by many leprosy patients who receive treatment at Egypt‘s last leprosy colony, Abu Zaabal, and have lived here for years.
These concerns come after Egypt’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Khaled Abdel Ghaffar met in January with Housing Minister Sherif El-Sherbini, to discuss a plan to rehouse leprosy patients and “develop” the former colony. A week after the meeting, the Health Ministry issued a statement denying any intention to close Abu Zaabal or offer its land for investment.
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While affirming the ministry’s commitment to improving leprosy treatment protocols and establishing public hospitals with specialized departments for the disease, spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar noted that leprosy colonies are no longer used worldwide because cases can now be treated by dermatology departments in hospitals.
Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, has long been a public health concern in Egypt.
Although the country has significantly reduced its leprosy rates (there are currently 500 active cases) it remains one of the few nations where the disease — which affects the skin, peripheral nerves and respiratory tract — continues to persist.
With early diagnosis and multi-drug therapy, leprosy is completely curable, and modern treatments prevent its spread within the first dose. And Egypt’s health ministry has been working with international health organizations to eradicate leprosy by 2030. But despite medical advances, social stigma and misconceptions about the disease continue to pose significant challenges for patients in Egypt.
Despite the ministry’s reassurances, hospital and parliamentary sources say that there have been efforts over the past two years to repurpose the colony, citing the declining leprosy infection rates and the fact that new patients are no longer admitted. And the reality of the patients’ social circumstances differs from the government’s scientific assessments.
Three separate wards
Abu Zaabal is located in Qalyubia Governorate, about 30 kilometers north of Cairo. Established by royal decree in the 1930s, the colony originally spanned 2,400 acres but has since shrunk to 262 acres, with 116 acres used for agriculture and the rest occupied by buildings and facilities.
The hospital within the colony consists of three wards: one for men, one for women and another for staff. Over the years, the colony has become home to generations of leprosy patients and their families, many of whom remain there due to societal stigma. The nearby settlement Ezbet El-Safih emerged through charitable donations to support recovered patients who were unable to return to their original homes due to social exclusion. Ezbet El-Safih, also known as The Fourth Ward, houses three generations of former leprosy patients and their families. Most residents work in workshops making shoes, tailoring clothes or cultivating citrus fruits, olives and mangoes on the colony’s farmland.
No one will believe we are cured or that the disease is not contagious.
Irene Saad, an MP on the Health Committee, told Mada Masr that the Health minister first proposed relocating leprosy patients and investing in the colony’s land about two years ago. The minister presented a detailed report outlining the investment objectives, which included transforming the land into medical facilities. He also displayed photos of security personnel stationed around the colony and questioned the relevance of maintaining a leprosy colony in the “New Republic.”
Saad noted that the minister dismissed the existence of new leprosy cases, arguing that isolation was no longer medically necessary. But the Health Committee objected, arguing that many patients had been secluded for years and would face extreme difficulties reintegrating into society.
In 2023, the government submitted a bill to Parliament to repeal the 1946 leprosy control law, which mandated compulsory isolation of patients. The government explained that isolation was necessary in the past due to the lack of effective treatments, but with advancements in the 1980s, transmission risks had significantly diminished. The government also pointed out that most countries had abolished discriminatory laws against leprosy patients.
Patients and staff speak out
The director of the leprosy colony, Ahmed Sami, declined to answer questions about investment in the colony, stating, “The matter is significant, and I have instructions not to discuss it at all.”
A staff member at the colony, who requested anonymity, revealed that Health Ministry officials visited the Abu Zaabal colony and Ezbet El-Safih settlement about two years ago to survey the land, but the matter was shelved until recently. The ministry now plans to convert the colony into outpatient clinics, justifying the move by claiming there are no new leprosy cases — a claim the staff member refutes.
Patients and their families emphasize the colony’s importance in their lives, particularly due to the persistent stigma they face outside its walls. Umm Karim, a mother from Ras Sudr in South Sinai, recounted how her four children, all diagnosed with leprosy, were expelled from the colony after just two days of treatment. Despite their severe conditions, the ministry insisted they return home.
“They told me to take them back to my village. I asked how I could do that when they were sick and suffering from muscle atrophy, but officials refused to listen,” she said.
Karim eventually secured permission for her eldest daughter to remain at the colony after amputation surgery due to leprosy complications. Yet the hospitals outside the colony refused to admit her other children out of fear of contagion, contradicting the ministry’s claim that the disease is no longer infectious.
Forgotten and forsaken
Shaaban, a 60-year-old patient who has lived in the colony with his wife for 30 years, said many patients are still trying to receive treatment at the facility, but officials refuse to acknowledge new cases. He expressed fears that patients would be expelled under the guise of development.
“We heard from ministry officials that the colony would be developed, which we know means we will be evicted. We have no families to return to, and no one will believe we are cured or that the disease is not contagious, no matter what the ministry says,” Shaaban said.
When people find out I had leprosy, they are afraid of me.
Hassan, a 49-year-old patient who has lived in the colony for 35 years, spoke of the difficulties he faces when visiting relatives in the Nile Delta. “When people find out I had leprosy, they are afraid of me. Once, a doctor refused to issue me a health insurance certificate when he learned about my medical history.”
Hassan, who survives on a monthly welfare stipend of 650 EGP (about ) and charitable donations, questioned the government’s promises of alternative housing. “They say they will give us new housing, but I don’t believe them. Most of the patients’ children live in Ezbet El-Safih. How will they house all these people? Once they take the land, we won’t get anything.”
For MP Irene Saad, “the Parliament is not against investment or land development, but alternative housing must be provided to ensure a dignified life for the patients. Abandoning them to face social rejection is inhumane and unacceptable.”
