Afenyo-Markin pushes for Health Minister’s appearance over shutdown of health information systems over $64m debt

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin is pushing for the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, to appear before the House to explain the shutdown of Ghana’s Health Information Management Systems.

Mr Afenyo-Markin wants the Minister to brief Parliament on the circumstances that led to the disruption of the systems, reportedly following an unpaid cloud hosting bill of more than US$64,000.

The issue was raised in Parliament amid concerns about the impact of the disruption on health information management and reporting across the country.

Responding to the call, the Majority Leader, James Agalga, assured the House that steps would be taken to invite Mr Akandoh to explain the circumstances surrounding the shutdown.

He said the engagement would also provide an opportunity for Parliament to examine the challenges and establish measures to ensure the affected systems are restored.

The shutdown, which took effect on October 29, 2026, followed the suspension of 10 servers by technology provider Akamai over an outstanding payment of US$64,510.95, according to information from the Ghana Health Service.

Among the affected platforms is the District Health Information Management System (DHIMS2), which supports the collection, analysis and reporting of health data across the country.

Other affected platforms include the Planning and Budget Management Information System, eTracker, HIV and tuberculosis trackers, and the National Malaria Data Repository.

The disruption has forced health facilities to temporarily rely on paper-based records while the Ghana Health Service works to restore access to the systems.

The Service has indicated that settling the outstanding hosting bill could allow the suspended platforms to be restored without rebuilding them.