A former health minister has cautioned that Ghana could lose approximately $50 million in public investments if the government proceeds with plans to replace the current national electronic health system. Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye issued this warning regarding the Ministry of Health’s decision to terminate its contract with Lightwave e-Healthcare Solutions.
The former minister described the move as financially wasteful, noting that over $73 million has already been invested in developing a system that connects hundreds of healthcare facilities nationwide. He emphasized that extensive staff training and infrastructure development would be lost with the system’s replacement.
“After investing over $73 million, training tens of thousands of staff, and connecting hundreds of facilities, Ghana cannot afford to discard a working national system,” Okoe Boye stated. He maintained that Lightwave has successfully digitized more than 450 public health facilities under the National e-Health Project.
The comments come amid conflicting claims about the company’s ownership and data management. The former minister asserted that Lightwave is wholly Ghanaian-owned and that all health data remains stored within the country, contrary to allegations made by current officials.
However, Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has previously defended the termination, citing poor performance and concerns about data sovereignty. The Ministry claims Lightwave completed fewer than half of the contracted facilities despite receiving most of the payment, and alleges patient data was being hosted overseas.
The Ministry is now implementing the new Ghana Health Information Management System to assume full state control over medical data. With the matter referred to the Attorney-General, the dispute continues to raise questions about the future of Ghana’s digital health infrastructure and the preservation of substantial public investment.
