Authorities in Sierra Leone are closing nearly 50 illegal health clinics because they are staffed by people with little or no medical training.
Deputy Health Minister Mohamed Koroma told the BBC that people had been killed in botched operations and 'inappropriate treatment' had been given to other patients.
He said the problem was a legacy of the civil war.
Sierra Leone's health care system was badly damaged during an 11-year civil war that ended in 2002. Many doctors fled the country.
Mr Koroma said many of those working in the clinics, all of which are in the capital, Freetown, were foreigners.
