Nigeria, June 25 -- One midnight in September 2025, as labour pains intensified, Blessing Okon was rushed through the dark roads of Oko-Ita in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State in search of help.

They passed the newly commissioned Mother and Child Hospital, a modern fully built facility designed to serve women like her, and which is less than a kilometre from her home. But its gates were locked.

She and her husband went to a primary healthcare centre (PHC) in Ikot Usen, about 30 minutes away. When they arrived, no health worker was on duty.

They waited nearly an hour as her condition worsened. No help came.

"I had felt the signs earlier but thought it was not serious and could wait till morning," Mrs Okon recalled....