READINESS FOR ANTENATAL SERVICES AMONG SELECTED SECONDARY HEALTH FACILITIES IN ABUJA, FCT, NIGERIA

Abstract

Weaknesses within the maternal health continuum, including antenatal, delivery, and postnatal services, contribute to the high maternal mortality rate in Nigeria. The deficiencies in the health system primarily stem from a lack of skilled health workers, equipment, and health commodities, which prevent the delivery of quality services. Antenatal services, as the first point of contact for pregnant women with the health system, play an important role in improving maternal and child health outcomes and ultimately reducing maternal and neonatal mortality. Most public health facilities in Nigeria are unable to deliver quality ANC services due to an inadequate skilled health workforce, medicines, commodities, and infrastructure, which ultimately result in the unacceptably high maternal mortality rate. This study assessed the readiness of health facilities within AMAC, FCT, to provide antenatal services so as to gain insights into the level of service provision and identify bottlenecks that hinder the delivery of quality care.  The research employed a cross-sectional study design, utilizing health facility assessments of general hospitals to determine readiness using the WHO Service Availability and Assessment framework (SARA). ANC service readiness was generally good, with all facilities showing 100% compliance for basic equipment and diagnostic capacity. This high level of readiness for ANC services encourages ANC visits, boosts facility deliveries, and ultimately improves maternal outcomes. Due to the lack of training on antenatal services observed in some hospitals during this study, it is recommended that a strong and well-trained monitoring and evaluation team be established for effective supervision of health facilities in areas such as staff training, capacity building, and the availability of work aids. Additionally, readiness assessments for ANC services should be conducted annually.