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State rolls out high-risk pregnancy tracker
Abia Governor Dr. Alex Otti has given his support for the establishment of the first national park in the South-East, which is billed to be sited in the state.
This is even as the State Government, through the Ministry of Health, has piloted a digital application known as CyTracker, designed to identify and track high-risk pregnancies in order to reduce maternal and child mortality across the state.
The governor gave the nod while receiving a delegation from the National Park Service, led by the chairman of its governing council, Dr Kingsley Ononogbu, in his office.
Governor Otti assured the delegation of the state government’s full support for the initiative, describing it as timely.
Otti told the delegation that Abia has 19 forest reserves, 18 of which are currently available for consideration, adding that this provides an opportunity to have at least one conservation area in each of the state’s 17 local government areas.
“Coincidences just keep happening. Earlier this morning, I approved a request from the Honourable Commissioner for Environment for the tracing of forest reserves. Clearly, there is somewhere to start from,” Governor Otti said.
The governor directed the Commissioner for Environment to work with the National Park Service and relevant experts to identify a suitable location for the proposed park. He stressed the importance of environmental conservation and the need to preserve the State’s natural resources.
Otti announced that the State Government would constitute a team, to be led by the Commissioner for Environment, with the participation of climate change and environmental experts, to ensure the successful establishment of the park.
“Nature is something you cannot do away with. Sometimes, when you think you have overcome nature through technology, nature will still rise. That is why conservation is very important,” Gov. Otti stated.
Dr Ononogbu had, in his speech, reminded the governor of his earlier commitment to the establishment of a national park in Abia State, noting that the absence of a national park in the entire South-East has left the zone behind.
“The South-East has zero national parks. This is a glaring omission that must be corrected, and Abia State, under your leadership, is best positioned to pioneer this change,” Dr Ononogbu stated.
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He added that establishing a park in Abia would create greater inclusion and career opportunities for the sons and daughters of the zone.
He requested that the Abia State Government identify a suitable forest or game reserve for upgrade to a National Park, constitute a committee to work with the Service, and forward a formal proposal for the establishment of the National Park to the Honourable Minister of Environment or the Conservator General of the National Park Service.
He commended Otti for the achievements he has made in the last three years.
Meanwhile, the Abia State Government has piloted a digital application known as CyTracker, designed to identify and track high-risk pregnancies in order to reduce maternal and child mortality across the state.
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, stated this in Umuahia while briefing newsmen.
Prince Kanu revealed that the application had already been successfully used to track teenage pregnancies and monitor the expectant mothers through delivery.
He described the initiative as another practical demonstration of the administration’s commitment to using technology to improve healthcare outcomes.
The Commissioner disclosed that Abia State has emerged as the number one in healthcare affordability and among the top three states in healthcare quality in Nigeria.
Prince Kanu noted that Abia was the only state that achieved top-three positions in 13 out of 16 indicators of good governance based on citizens’ perception, adding that the state’s strong performance in healthcare affordability and quality further demonstrates the impact of the administration’s reforms.
The Commissioner, who further gave an update on the functionalisation of Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), said the first 50 functionalised PHCs accounted for more than 20 per cent of the over 1.067 million outpatient department visits recorded across the state between July 2025 and June 2026.
He announced that three additional PHCs had been functionalised between July 27 and August 10, bringing the total number of functionalised PHCs in the state to 151.
