Identify and track definitive causes of stillbirths and child mortality
CHAMPS uses Minimally Invasive Tissue Sampling (MITS), cutting-edge diagnostics, clinical information and each family’s story to investigate deaths.
Disseminate and communicate CHAMPS findings
Open-access results allow public health leaders and decision makers to identify maternal and child health priorities and improve health services.
Use Data for Action
Implement, investigate and test data-driven interventions to reduce maternal and child mortality
Enhance operational efficiency for network excellence
CHAMPS work empowers young scientists and leaders, ensuring sustainable approaches to addressing health challenges to accelerate program progress and impact.
Advancing Knowledge to Save Children’s Lives
Child Health And Mortality Protection Surveillance (CHAMPS) is a global surveillance network that generates and shares accurate information on causes of stillbirths and child deaths in high-mortality settings in Africa and South Asia. Working closely with communities and their leaders, CHAMPS teams work quickly to identify deaths and, with a family’s consent, uses innovative diagnostic methods to investigate the causes. Findings help families improve the health of their children. CHAMPS provides data to local, national, and global health leaders to improve policies and programs and drive investments to save lives.
WHERE WE WORK
A Global Network for Improving Child Survival
Providing Insights Where They Are Needed Most
CHAMPS is a global network made of 22 catchment areas in 9 countries in Africa and South Asia. The Network is a collaborative structure, with senior scientific leaders directing each site’s work in coordination with each other and with a US-based program office.
We build evidence to prevent child deaths with Ministries of Health in CHAMPS countries and other partners.
Gates Foundation Hasso Plattner Foundation Hasso Plattner Institute The Task Force for Global Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Emory Global Health Institute Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) World Health Organization (WHO) United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation Africa CDC Global Health Equity Network – World Economic Forum Child Health Task Force
Our Impact by Numbers
CHAMPS provides trusted, evidence-based data on child mortality, informing policy, public health practice, and health system changes.
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Catchment Areas
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Countries
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Women in Pregnancy Surveillance Across 7 Countries
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Stillbirths and child deaths investigated with advanced diagnostics.
*Data updated: April 7th 2025
ADVANCING KNOWLEDGE
How CHAMPS Is Driving Innovation by Investigating Child Mortality
In communities that suffer from high rates of stillbirths and child deaths, many deaths occur at home or too quickly for healthcare professionals to diagnose the illness. Too often, diagnostics tests are not available. CHAMPS began with the idea that better information could steer programs, policies, and investments needed to reach the Sustainable Development Goals for child survival.
WHAT WE’RE LEARNING
CHAMPS Case Studies
Discover insights and community- centered interventions that are addressing health inequities and combating preventable diseases like diarrhea and malaria.
July 30, 2024
“Men grieve differently” – the importance of providing grief counseling to men who have lost children
The loss of a child is a painful and traumatic experience. Both mothers and fathers of deceased children go through grieving processes but usually, they do…
August 1, 2024
CHAMPS collaborates with local MoH to reduce neonatal mortality by promoting Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) and Enhancing Emergency Obstetric Care (EmOC) in Siaya, Western Kenya
UNICEF’s target for neonatal mortality rate (NMR) is 12 per 1000 live births [1], however, in Kenya the neonatal mortality rate has remained significantly high…
August 1, 2024
Translating findings from child mortality audits into life-saving interventions: CHAMPS Sierra Leone success story.
In 2021, there were 104.7 deaths per 1,000 live births among children under the age of 5 in Sierra Leone (1). From the Child Health…
PARTNER TO SAVE CHILDREN’S LIVES
Support CHAMPS to generate data-driven insights and innovate for child health
CHAMPS Resources
Discover our comprehensive repository of open-source materials to support research and advocacy on child mortality.
