Unpaid US$64,510 Cloud Bill Takes Ghana Health Data Systems Offline

ACCRA, GHANA — The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has lost access to its national Ghana health information systems, including the District Health Information Management System (DHIMS2), after its cloud hosting provider switched off its servers over an unpaid bill of US$64,510, GhanaWeb reported on 5 November.

The shutdown took effect on 29 October 2026, according to the report, which cited myjoyonline.com. An internal memo dated 2 November from Director-General Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea to regional and divisional directors said the provider had switched off all 10 servers supporting the systems.

Which Ghana health information systems are down

DHIMS2 is the main platform the GHS uses to collect, manage and report health data from facilities across the country. Other affected Ghana health information systems listed in the memo include the Planning and Budget Management Information System (PBMIS), eTracker, the Family Planning and Health Care platform, the Operational Training and Supervision Support assessment system and the noncommunicable disease (NCD) tracker.

HIV and tuberculosis tracking systems, including their web platforms and laboratory connections, are also offline, along with the ISRS sample tracker, the National Malaria Data Repository, the inpatient morbidity and mortality events system, SMS alerts, the transport system and the Community Health Information Management portal.

The suspension also affects the data-exchange gateway that sends birth notifications to the National Identification Authority and the Births and Deaths Registry.

No data lost, the GHS says

Akoriyea assured health officials that the suspension had not caused a security breach or data loss. “There has been no security breach, and no data has been lost,” he wrote. “Nightly encrypted backups of every system are held outside the suspended account and are current to 29th October 2026.”

Android applications used by some of the systems can still collect data offline, the report said, which means some facilities can continue recording information to upload once access is restored.

The memo did not say when the bill would be paid or when the systems would be back online.

Why health data systems matter

Health information systems are the nervous system of public health. Facility data on births, deaths, immunisation, malaria, HIV, TB and chronic disease allow managers to spot outbreaks, plan medicine supplies, allocate staff and report to government and partners. When these systems go down, decisions are made with less information.

The timing is sensitive. Ghana is monitoring travellers from Ebola-affected countries for up to 21 days and recently contained a yellow fever outbreak. Sample trackers and laboratory links help ensure that test results reach clinicians and surveillance teams quickly during an outbreak response.

HIV and TB tracking systems support patient follow-up, helping programmes identify people who miss appointments or need viral load tests. Interruptions can make it harder to trace patients and keep treatment on track, although facilities usually keep paper records as well.

The NCD tracker supports follow-up of patients with hypertension and diabetes, and malaria data feed national reports on cases and commodities, so a long outage could also affect planning for medicine supplies.

Birth notification links to the National Identification Authority and the Births and Deaths Registry are part of efforts to register every child. Delays in these links could slow registration, which affects access to services and planning data.

Digital health on a fragile budget

The incident shows how essential digital health platforms can depend on relatively small recurring costs. Cloud hosting, software licences, maintenance and internet connectivity must be paid every year, yet they are often funded through donor projects or irregular budget releases rather than secure line items.

Many African health systems built their digital platforms with support from development partners. As donor funding has fallen, governments have been asked to take over running costs, and gaps in transition planning can leave systems exposed. Digital health experts recommend that health ministries treat hosting and maintenance as core operating expenses, like electricity or salaries.

Data sovereignty and backup arrangements are also important. The GHS memo indicates that backups were kept separately, which reduced the risk of permanent loss, but restoring service depends on resolving the account with the provider.

Digital patient records and reporting tools are also being expanded in Nigeria and other countries in the region, which face similar questions about long-term financing and who owns and maintains the systems.

The GHS has not said who is responsible for the unpaid bill. Restoring the Ghana health information systems quickly, and securing a stable budget for hosting, will determine how much routine health data is delayed and whether facilities face a backlog when the platforms return.

 

 

Why it matters: A small unpaid bill has paused the data Ghana uses to track outbreaks, HIV, TB and chronic disease across the country.

 

 

Source: GhanaWeb,  November 2026.