Unavailability of essential obstetric care services in a local government area of south-west Nigeria.

This paper reports the findings at baseline in a multi-phase project that aimed at reducing maternal mortality in a local government area (LGA) of South-West Nigeria. The objectives were to determine the availability of essential obstetric care (EOC) services in the LGA and to assess the quality of existing services. The first phase of this interventional study, which is the focus of this paper, consisted of a baseline health facility and needs assessment survey using instruments adapted from the United Nations guidelines.