FCT Community Decries Worsening Maternal Care, Complications

Residents of the Takushara community in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) have raised concerns over inadequate maternal health services amid rising emergency cases among pregnant women, highlighting urgent gaps in local healthcare delivery.

The situation, they explained, has forced many families to rely on referrals to private clinics or distant general hospitals, often causing dangerous delays that exacerbate complications for both mothers and their unborn children.

Residents’ experiences reflect broader national challenges captured in the 2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), showing just 63 per cent of pregnant women access antenatal care, while only 46 per cent of births are skilled.

The survey further indicates that only 42 per cent of mothers receive postnatal care within two days of delivery, underscoring systemic gaps that affect maternal and child health across Nigeria’s communities, including Takushara.

In Takushara, the situation is worsened by gaps observed in the facility’s October 2025 monthly summary, revealing low antenatal attendance, no skilled deliveries, frequent referrals, and shortages of essential commodities for maternal care.

Data also revealed that only one permanent staff member is officially posted to the facility, with all other workers being unpaid volunteers, mirroring concerns repeatedly raised by community members about staffing inadequacies.

Mrs Esther Simon, a local resident, said many women had suffered complications due to a lack of essential services, emphasising the primary healthcare centre’s inability to provide emergency care for pregnant women.

She added that the PHC lacked basic medical equipment, relying on referrals even for emergencies, leaving many families with no choice but to seek care from distant hospitals or costly private clinics.

According to her, the PHC is not fully functional due to missing equipment and services, particularly those necessary for safe pregnancy monitoring, labour, delivery, and postnatal support for women and newborns.

“We have to go elsewhere for scanning and testing, and during emergencies, patients are referred either to private clinics, which are costly, or rushed to general hospitals, depending on the severity of complications,” she said.

For Malam Ali Musa, those service gaps had pushed some families toward unsafe delivery practices, with inadequate facilities discouraging women from attending antenatal clinics, and some resorting to traditional birth attendants at home.

“Some deliveries become so difficult for them to handle that patients are either sent to the closest private clinic or rushed to town for emergencies, increasing maternal and newborn risks unnecessarily,” he added.

Health workers in Takushara confirmed that haemorrhage, preeclampsia, and prolonged labour occurred frequently, yet the facility lacked the capacity to manage such emergencies, leaving women at serious risk of preventable complications.

Mrs Islamiya Abdulhakim, a Community Health Extension Worker, narrated a recent emergency where a woman in labour had to be rushed to a private clinic because the PHC lacked the tools and personnel required.

“The woman received a blood transfusion to save her life, but we were unsure whether the blood collected from a relative was adequately screened before administration, highlighting serious emergency care gaps,” she said.

Mr Thomas Jairus, another CHEW, explained that while a new solar power system had improved night-time lighting, other challenges persisted, including a lack of medication, poor cold chain systems, and severe manpower shortages in the facility.

He added, “Only one person is a permanent staff member; the rest of us are volunteers working in the centre, appealing for government support to improve staffing and ensure drug availability for emergencies.”

Mr Damu Gbogo, AMAC Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for Health, said Takushara’s situation reflected wider council health system challenges, noting that most PHCs lacked up-to-date equipment, adequate staffing, and emergency care capabilities for mothers and children.

He explained that just 40 per cent of staff were permanent, with 60 per cent volunteers, and some volunteers worked up to 11 days at a stretch, leaving facilities vulnerable when workers left for better opportunities.

Delays in drug distribution further compromise service delivery, with some facilities receiving commodities near expiry, worsening maternal health outcomes and forcing families to seek emergency care outside their communities.

The community’s concerns aligned with national efforts to strengthen primary healthcare, including initiatives to ensure essential maternal services were available and that PHCs were adequately equipped to handle emergencies.

Prof. Muhammad Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to revitalising primary healthcare, improving maternal health outcomes, and ensuring women have access to lifesaving services across Nigeria.

At the MAMII project inauguration, he stated that the initiative strengthened PHCs to provide quality maternal, newborn, and child health services, emphasising that safe motherhood is a moral obligation, not merely a policy goal.

Pate also stressed that every Nigerian, especially women and children, should access quality care at the primary healthcare level, emphasising that functional PHCs were critical to reducing maternal mortality nationwide.

Residents of Takushara are appealing for urgent government intervention to upgrade their PHC, recruit adequate staff, and equip the facility with essential tools to prevent needless maternal and newborn deaths.
They stressed that timely interventions could improve maternal and child health outcomes, ensuring women receive quality care, while reducing complications and fatalities associated with inadequate primary healthcare services in the community.

This report was produced by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Health Desk, supported by the Africa Data Hub and Orodata Science, highlighting critical maternal health challenges in Takushara and nationwide.