Professional Evaluation of Maternal Mortality Surveillance Systems in Oyo State

Maternal mortality surveillance is essential for tracking progress toward SDG 3.1 and guiding resource allocation for maternal health programmes, yet the quality and completeness of surveillance data in Oyo State has not been professionally evaluated. This study evaluated the quality of maternal mortality surveillance systems in Oyo State, South West Nigeria. A health systems evaluation design was employed, assessing surveillance system performance at the facility, LGA, and state levels across three zones: Ibadan, Ogbomosho, and Oke-Ogun. Data sources included facility maternal death registers, LGA health information system records, and state maternal mortality committee records for 2020 to 2023. Structured interviews were conducted with 18 surveillance focal persons and maternal health programme officers. Surveillance quality was assessed across six attributes: sensitivity, completeness, timeliness, representativeness, quality of verbal autopsy application, and data use for programme action. Results showed that facility-level death recording was complete for only 63.7 percent of verifiable maternal deaths. Verbal autopsy coverage was 58.4 percent. State-level data aggregation lagged by an average of 4.2 months beyond standard reporting timelines. Data use for specific programme interventions was documented in only 31.3 percent of quarterly review meetings. Community maternal deaths were significantly underrepresented. Recommendations include mandatory 24-hour maternal death notification from all facilities, community maternal death tracking through CHEWs, and a dedicated maternal mortality audit and response team in Oyo State.

Keywords: maternal mortality surveillance, data quality, Oyo State, maternal health, South West Nigeria