The Abia State Government has deployed a digital application, CYTrack, to identify and monitor high-risk and teenage pregnancies as part of efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality in the state.
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti.
Prince Kanu said the application, piloted by the state Ministry of Health, had been successfully used to track teenage pregnancies and monitor expectant mothers through delivery, with the aim of preventing avoidable maternal and child deaths.
“The State’s Ministry of Health has piloted the application of a digital tool to identify and track high-risk pregnancies in order to reduce maternal and child mortality.
“This is an app, referred to as CyTrack, which has been used to successfully track teenage pregnancies and monitor such teenage pregnancies up till delivery to prevent maternal mortality”, he stated.
The commissioner said that the deployment of the technology was part of the Otti led administration’s reforms in the health sector, which he said has continued to produce measurable improvements in healthcare delivery across the state.
He said data from functionalised Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) also showed increased healthcare utilisation, particularly in outpatient visits and deliveries.
According to him, the first 50 functionalised PHCs accounted for more than 20 per cent of the 1.067 million outpatient department visits recorded between July 2025 and June 2026.
Kanu disclosed that three additional PHCs had been functionalised between July 27 and August 7, bringing the number of functionalised centres in the state to 151, from the previous 148.
He added that another 25 equipped PHCs were scheduled for functionalisation within the next three weeks.
The commissioner further announced that enrolment in the Abia State Health Insurance Scheme increased from 233,000 to 237,000 between July 27 and August 7.
He said the Abiriba Community Improvement Union, North America Charter, had also committed to sponsoring more than 1,000 indigent persons under the informal sector of the health insurance scheme.
Prince Kanu urged other communities and organisations to emulate the initiative and support vulnerable residents to gain access to healthcare services.
He also said the state recorded no outbreak of diseases of public health importance during the period under review, listing Ebola, Lassa fever, COVID-19, diphtheria, cholera, mpox and yellow fever among the diseases monitored.
The commissioner said the health sector reforms had also attracted external recognition, citing a recent report by Philips Consulting and SBI which, ranked Abia first nationally in healthcare affordability and among the top three states in healthcare quality.
He described the recognition as an independent validation of the transformation recorded in the state’s health sector.
“The ranking and recognition by Philips Consulting serves as an independent validation of Abia’s impressive transformation journey so far in the state’s health sector”, Prince Kanu said.
Contributing , the Commissioner for Health, Prof Enoch Uche explained that the Cytrack application developed from a pilot project using Google technology, captures key demographic and pregnancy information, including a woman’s age and last menstrual period, which enables health workers to identify high-risk pregnancies and determine expected delivery dates and antenatal care schedules.
According to the Prof Uche, teenagers, women without antenatal care and those who rely on traditional birth attendants are among the groups considered particularly vulnerable to complications during pregnancy and childbirth.
He said the application sends reminders to pregnant women ahead of their antenatal appointments and, where necessary, alerts responsible adults within their communities to ensure that the women receive appropriate care.
“When we don’t see them, then this app, because two days to antenatal care, it tells you that you should come for antenatal,” he said.
The commissioner added that the system also enables health workers to track pregnant women approaching their expected delivery dates and arrange for them to be taken to health facilities when necessary.
He disclosed that the system had already contributed to successful deliveries among teenage pregnancies managed through the programme, noting that health workers were able to intervene promptly when labour failed to progress and trigger Caesarean section where necessary.
He said the initiative was developed to address Abia’s peculiar maternal health challenges and was being adapted to suit the state’s needs.
The commissioner also urged pregnant women to enrol in the state’s health insurance programme, noting that registered pregnant women were entitled to free maternal health services and delivery, including Caesarean section, under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund arrangement.
He said the state government’s objective was not only to provide well-equipped and adequately staffed hospitals but also to tackle the underlying factors responsible for maternal mortality by identifying vulnerable women early and ensuring that they receive timely care.
