NEWS
Abia Deploys CYTrack Digital Tool to Monitor High-Risk, Teenage Pregnancies, Tackle Maternal Mortality
The Abia State Government has intensified efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality with the deployment of a digital health application, CYTrack, designed to identify, monitor and provide timely interventions for high-risk and teenage pregnancies across the state.
The initiative was disclosed on Monday, August 10, 2026, by the Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, while briefing journalists on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti.
According to Kanu, the CYTrack application, piloted by the Abia State Ministry of Health, is already being used to identify teenage pregnancies and monitor expectant mothers from antenatal care through delivery, with the broader objective of preventing avoidable complications and 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 the digital intervention formed part of the health-sector reforms being implemented by the Otti led-administration, adding that the government was combining infrastructure, technology, healthcare personnel and data-driven interventions to improve healthcare outcomes.
He explained that available data from functionalised Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) had also indicated increased utilisation of healthcare services, particularly outpatient consultations and deliveries.
Kanu disclosed that the first 50 functionalised PHCs accounted for more than 20 per cent of the 1.067 million outpatient department visits recorded across the state between July 2025 and June 2026.
He further announced that three additional PHCs had been functionalised between July 27 and August 7, increasing the number of functionalised centres in Abia from 148 to 151.
According to him, another 25 equipped PHCs were scheduled to be functionalised within the next three weeks, signalling further expansion of the government’s efforts to strengthen healthcare access at the grassroots.
Giving further insight into the CYTrack system, the Commissioner for Health, Prof Enoch Uche, explained that the application emerged from a pilot project developed using Google technology and was designed to capture important demographic and pregnancy-related information.
Contributing, the Commissioner for Health, Prof Enoch Uche said the information collected includes a pregnant woman’s age and last menstrual period, allowing healthcare workers to determine whether a pregnancy is high-risk, calculate the expected delivery date and schedule appropriate antenatal care.
Prof Uche identified teenagers, women who do not attend antenatal care and expectant mothers who depend on traditional birth attendants as some of the groups particularly vulnerable to complications during pregnancy and childbirth.
He said the application is designed to help bridge gaps in follow-up care by sending reminders to pregnant women ahead of their antenatal appointments. Where necessary, responsible adults within their communities can also be alerted to help ensure that the women receive appropriate medical attention.
“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.
Beyond antenatal reminders, Prof Uche said CYTrack enables health workers to monitor pregnant women as they approach their expected delivery dates and make arrangements for their transfer to health facilities where necessary.
He disclosed that the system had already contributed to successful deliveries among teenage pregnancies being managed under the programme.
According to him, the technology has enabled healthcare workers to identify situations requiring urgent intervention, including cases where labour failed to progress, thereby allowing medical teams to take appropriate action and trigger Caesarean section when necessary.
The Commissioner said the initiative was specifically being adapted to address Abia’s peculiar maternal health challenges, with technology serving as an additional tool for healthcare workers to identify vulnerable women before complications become life-threatening.
He also encouraged pregnant women across the state to enrol in the Abia State health insurance programme, stressing that registered pregnant women were entitled to free maternal healthcare services and delivery, including Caesarean section, under the Basic Health Care Provision Fund arrangement.
The state government, he explained, is therefore pursuing a broader maternal healthcare strategy that goes beyond the provision of hospitals and medical equipment.
The objective, he said, is to ensure that healthcare facilities are adequately equipped and staffed while simultaneously addressing the underlying factors responsible for maternal mortality through early identification of vulnerable pregnancies, continuous monitoring and timely medical intervention.
With the expansion of functional PHCs and the deployment of digital tools such as CYTrack, the Abia Government is positioning technology and data-driven healthcare as key components of its ongoing efforts to improve maternal an
d child health outcomes across the state.