FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, 2 July, 2024 - The United Nations Population Fund, (UNFPA) joined the Ministry of Health, the Directorate of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSTI) and other stakeholders at the launch of the Pregnancy Registration and Service Tracking application, PReSTrack, on July 2, 2024.
PReSTrack is a transformative application with mobile and web-based capabilities, on and offline designed to enhance maternal and newborn health outcomes by providing real-time tracking of pregnancies, and flagging high-risk conditions early to enable timely life-saving interventions. By empowering health professionals with this digital tool and educating communities about the importance of monitoring pregnancies, PReSTrack aims to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality; a key national development target for Sierra Leone.
The country has made notable progress in improving maternal health with a 74% reduction in MMR from 1,682 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 443 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020 (UN Estimates, 2023). The Government has declared maternal mortality a public health emergency and has set an ambitious target of reducing MMR to less than 300 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2025.
Officially launching the PReSTrack Application, Chief Minister, who is also the Government Chief Innovation Officer, Dr. David Sengeh described the application as "one of the most amazing, inspiring, and high-impact potential solutions." He noted that the PReSTrack concept did not emerge in isolation, but was one of the results from the National Innovation and Digital Strategy, which was launched in 2019. This strategy underscores the importance of leveraging technology to revolutionize healthcare. Dr. Sengeh highlighted that the hybrid - online-offline capability of the App, which enables its functionality across the entire country, thus ensuring that no-one is left behind, stems from a long-term vision. He noted that PreSTrack would enable Sierra Leone to bend the (maternal mortality ratio) curve by harnessing technology to eliminate inefficiencies in service delivery. He added that the GPS-enabled App would help nurses, midwives, physicians and other healthcare providers deliver services more effectively.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby, underscored the critical need for radical solutions to achieving the goal of reducing maternal mortality to 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. He highlighted PReSTrack as an essential tool in this effort, noting that the App would enable the health system to see every pregnancy in the country and influence their outcomes positively. The Minister stressed that this comprehensive approach was essential to caring for pregnancies and intervening when high-risk conditions were identified, helping to change the narrative of maternal health in Sierra Leone. He added, "We are going to find every pregnancy, work with that pregnancy as if it were our own, care for that pregnancy, and influence the outcome of that pregnancy. PReSTrack is going to help us do just that. It will allow us to see these women, celebrate these women, and work with them to identify and manage high-risk pregnancies."
Speaking at the same event, UNFPA Deputy Representative, Ms. Sibeso Mululuma, commended the Government of Sierra Leone for coming up with the PreSTrack initiative, whose development UNFPA was honored to have been part of. She noted that the App, which seeks to harness the power of digital technology to offer local solutions for local challenges, represented a significant milestone in the Government’s commitment to advance improvements in maternal health outcomes in the country. She highlighted the need to integrate the PreSTrack in Reproductive Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) programmes implemented in Sierra Leone and to explore public-private partnerships to ensure the long-term financial viability of the initiative and to harness the continuously evolving digital technologies.
Abdul Malik Tejan-Sie, Director of DSTI, expressed his delight during the app launch, stating, ''today I am pleased that the team at DSTI and I have worked tremendously in making sure we are all here today in delivering this tool to fight maternal mortality in Sierra Leone.''
The PreSTrack has so far been piloted in 39 health facilities in Sierra Leone, registering over 10,000 pregnant women.
About
UNFPA is the United Nations’ sexual and reproductive health agency. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA calls for urgent action to achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health, realize reproductive rights for all, and accelerate the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development.
Media contact: Islander Kabia | Communications Unit | UNFPA Sierra Leone | ikabia@unfpa.org
