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

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin is asking Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh to appear before Parliament after Ghana’s Health Information Management Systems were disrupted. The systems reportedly went offline after an unpaid cloud hosting bill exceeding US$64,000. The shutdown raised concerns about health reporting and information management nationwide.

A parliamentary briefing would allow the Minister to explain the circumstances behind the disruption. It would also clarify how the outstanding payment developed and what response followed. The affected platforms include DHIMS2, eTracker, disease trackers, and a malaria data repository. These tools support important health information work.

Majority Leader James Agalga assured Parliament that steps would be taken to invite the Minister. He said the engagement could help examine the challenges and establish measures for restoring the systems. The Ghana Health Service indicated that paying the bill could restore access without rebuilding the suspended platforms.

Ghana’s Health Information Management Systems are a group of digital platforms used to manage health information across the country. They help collect, organize, analyze, and report data. They also support planning and budgeting. Their importance comes from connecting information gathered by health facilities with national reporting and management work.

The article names several examples. DHIMS2 supports health-data collection, analysis, and reporting. Other affected platforms include the Planning and Budget Management Information System, eTracker, HIV and tuberculosis trackers, and the National Malaria Data Repository. Together, these systems cover routine reporting, planning, and disease-specific information.

The systems were disrupted after technology provider Akamai suspended 10 servers over an outstanding payment. Health facilities temporarily relied on paper records while access was being restored. The disruption showed how dependent national health reporting had become on these hosted digital platforms. Paying the bill could restore them without rebuilding them.

The disruption affected 10 servers, according to information from the Ghana Health Service. Those servers supported several platforms used for health information management and reporting across Ghana. The scale therefore extended beyond one application or facility. It touched systems used for national data, budgeting, tracking, and reporting.

Akamai suspended the servers after an outstanding hosting payment of US$64,510.95. The article also describes the amount as more than US$64,000. Platforms affected included DHIMS2, eTracker, HIV and tuberculosis trackers, the National Malaria Data Repository, and the Planning and Budget Management Information System.

The shutdown began on October 29, 2026. Its effect was immediate enough that health facilities had to use paper-based records temporarily. The Ghana Health Service has been working to restore access. It indicated that settling the bill could bring the suspended platforms back without rebuilding them.

When the systems shut down, health facilities could no longer use the affected digital platforms normally. They temporarily relied on paper-based records instead. This mattered because the platforms supported health information management and reporting across the country. The disruption therefore affected how information was recorded and handled.

DHIMS2 was among the affected systems, along with eTracker, HIV and tuberculosis trackers, the National Malaria Data Repository, and the Planning and Budget Management Information System. These platforms cover routine health data, disease tracking, planning, and budgeting. Their shared disruption reduced access to several kinds of information at once.

The Ghana Health Service has been working to restore access to the suspended systems. The Service indicated that paying the outstanding hosting bill could allow restoration without rebuilding the platforms. Parliament also plans to examine the circumstances and possible measures to ensure the systems are restored.

DHIMS2 is the District Health Information Management System. The article identifies it as one of the platforms affected by the shutdown. Its core work is supporting the collection, analysis, and reporting of health data across Ghana. That makes it a central part of the country’s health information management system.

The mechanism is straightforward: health information is gathered through the system, examined, and then used for reporting. When access to DHIMS2 is unavailable, facilities and health managers lose the normal digital channel for handling that information. The article does not describe every DHIMS2 feature, but it clearly links the platform to nationwide data work.

Its disruption forced health facilities to use paper-based records temporarily. That created a practical interruption while the Ghana Health Service worked to restore access. The Service said settling the outstanding hosting bill could restore DHIMS2 and other suspended platforms without rebuilding them.

A cloud hosting provider runs or connects customers to computing resources, such as servers, where digital systems operate. If a government account has an unpaid hosting bill, the provider may suspend access under its service arrangement. In this case, Akamai reportedly suspended 10 servers after Ghana’s outstanding payment reached US$64,510.95.

Suspension is different from rebuilding a system from scratch. The software, configurations, and stored information may remain on the hosted infrastructure while access is blocked. Once the account is settled, the provider can potentially reactivate the servers and restore connections. The article does not describe Akamai’s technical process, so this is a general explanation of how hosted services commonly operate.

The Ghana Health Service indicated that paying the bill could restore the suspended platforms without rebuilding them. That possibility could shorten recovery and reduce disruption. Parliament is also expected to examine the circumstances and measures needed to ensure restoration.

Governments need accurate, timely health data because decisions depend on knowing what is happening, where, and when. Disease surveillance uses reported information to identify changing patterns and guide responses. Budgeting uses it to match money and supplies with health needs. Public health decisions also require reliable evidence rather than delayed or incomplete reports.

For example, data systems can bring together information from health facilities for analysis and reporting. That information can help officials compare conditions across districts and follow diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, or malaria. The article specifically names trackers for those diseases, along with DHIMS2 and planning systems. These examples show how data supports different kinds of work.

The article does not describe specific decisions made from the data. It does show that the shutdown disrupted health information management and reporting nationwide, forcing facilities onto paper records. Restoring the systems could help resume normal reporting and improve continuity of information for government planning.