Logo of Lightwave E-Healthcare Solutions Limited
Lightwave E-Healthcare Solutions Limited has rejected allegations by the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, concerning the management of Ghana’s National E-Healthcare Programme and the Lightwave Health Information Management System (LHIMS).
In a detailed statement issued on October 31, 2025, the company described the minister’s remarks—made in Parliament on October 28 and repeated during the Presidency’s Accountability Series on October 29, as “false, misleading and damaging” to Ghana’s digital health transformation.
Lightwave, which developed and implemented the LHIMS platform, stressed that it is a wholly Ghanaian-owned company, established in 2015 and employing more than 150 local staff.
It added that its sister company, Lightwave E-Healthcare Services LLC, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is also owned by the same Ghanaian shareholder.
Addressing claims that Ghanaian medical data was being hosted or managed from India, the company clarified that all patient data is securely stored within Ghana under the full control of the Ministry of Health.
“The healthcare data of Ghanaians remains the property of the Ministry of Health. It is neither managed nor stored in India or any foreign location,” the statement affirmed.
While acknowledging that the LHIMS software remains its intellectual property, Lightwave explained that the Ministry was granted a licence to use the platform for the duration of the contract, consistent with international software licensing practices.
The company outlined its track record on the National E-Healthcare Project, stating that it successfully completed Phase One in 2017, deploying LHIMS in 23 health facilities across the Central Region, including the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital.
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Phase Two of the project, valued at US$100 million, was approved in 2019 to expand deployment to 950 facilities nationwide.
In response to claims that only half of the project had been executed despite 77 percent of the contract value being paid, Lightwave said such assertions were misleading.
According to the company, the project’s financial structure assigned higher cost weights to teaching and regional hospitals, meaning progress should be measured by contract value rather than the number of facilities.
“As of December 31, 2024, Lightwave had fully deployed the system in all four teaching hospitals, six regional hospitals and 243 district hospitals, representing about 72 percent of the contract value,” the statement noted.
Lightwave attributed project delays largely to late payments from the Ministry, with some invoices outstanding for over 10 months, as well as disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company also disclosed that it had not received payment for eight months of post-contract work, despite repeated assurances from the Ministry.
In addition, it claimed to have completed extra work worth approximately US$25 million, such as system integrations with the National Health Insurance Authority, commercial banks, pharmacies and the Births and Deaths Registry, none of which has been compensated.
According to the company, currently, the LHIMS platform remains operational in more than 200 health facilities across the country, including the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Eastern Regional Hospital, Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital and Walewale District Hospital.
Lightwave expressed disappointment over the current standoff but reiterated its readiness to work with the Ministry to complete pending installations and sustain the system’s reliability.
“The LHIMS platform has served Ghana effectively for nearly nine years. It remains one of the continent’s most robust e-health systems. We hope this clarification ends speculation and allows for a constructive resolution."
AM
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