Cloud computing for development — Improving the health information system in Ghana

The health sector in many developing countries is undergoing restructuring to meet set goals, especially the health related Millennium Development Goals. To be able to monitor the performance of the health sector, an efficient Health Information System (HIS) is essential. This paper describes the process of implementing an online data warehouse based on the open source District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2) in Ghana, integrating existing vertical reporting systems run by various health programmes. We discuss how an online deployment has solved many of the challenges facing the previous HIS in Ghana, and how it is an example of how cloud computing can be leverage to great effect in developing countries.