GHS Health Systems Shut Down Nationwide Over US$64,510 Cloud Hosting Bill
Story By: Deborah Adorsu
The Ghana Health Service has suspended access to its electronic health information systems nationwide after its cloud hosting provider shut down its servers over outstanding administrative issues.
The shutdown took effect on October 29, 2026, and has affected the District Health Information Management System, DHIMS2, the Service’s national health information reporting platform, as well as several other digital systems used across the health sector.
In an internal memo dated November 2 and addressed to regional and divisional directors, Director-General Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea said the provider had switched off all 10 servers hosting the systems. 5785
He assured health officials there has been no security breach and no data loss.
“There has been no security breach, and no data has been lost. Nightly encrypted backups of every system are held outside the suspended account and are current to 29th October 2026,” he stated.
Systems affected
DHIMS2, which supports national health information management, is unavailable for data entry, validation, analysis and report extraction. 5785
Other affected platforms include the Planning and Budget Management Information System, PBMIS, eTracker, HIV and tuberculosis trackers, the National Malaria Data Repository, the data-exchange gateway, the Family Planning and Health Care system, Operational Training and Supervision Support tools and the Non-Communicable Disease tracker. 930b
Although their web-based platforms remain unavailable, the GHS says Android applications used for data capture on some of these systems can still function offline.
Move to paper reporting
The GHS has directed health facilities and districts nationwide to maintain paper-based reporting while its electronic systems remain unavailable.
The directive is intended to ensure health data for October and November 2026 are preserved for entry once the systems are restored.
Until access is restored, facilities and districts are expected to rely on paper-based reporting and offline data capture to maintain collection of health information.
US$64,510 payment to restore services
The memo outlined two possible routes to restoring the systems. The first is to reinstate the existing Akamai account by settling the outstanding balance.
The second option would involve procuring new servers and rebuilding the systems using existing backups.
Dr Akoriyea said the GHS was finalising arrangements with Akamai and seeking approval for a payment of US$64,510.95 to reinstate the account.