Causes of Death – CHAMPS Health

Our Data

These data provide summaries of the CHAMPS-eligible and enrolled cases across all surveillance sites, offering a clear understanding of child mortality causes. Causes of death are categorized by CHAMPS’ site, etiology, CHAMPS mortality categories, age group, and other filters. Causes of death can be viewed by all causes or specific etiologies, offering critical insights to support paediatric health interventions, and promote child survival action.

Quick Facts

Each CHAMPS site has a team of local experts who review the extensive test results and clinical data for each stillbirth or death in a young child and assign underlying, intermediate, and immediate causes of death, as process known as “Determination of Cause of Death (DeCoDe)”. CHAMPS also tracks the health and outcomes of pregnant women in most sites, information that not only improves their health but provides a better understanding of why some stillbirths and newborn deaths occur.

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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 deaths in liveborn child <5 (stillbirths and child deaths decoded)

Data updated: 26 March 2025

Explore the Data

The CHAMPS Network collects vital data on child causes of death for stillbirths and children under five across nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Since 2016, CHAMPS has identified causes such as neonatal mortality, malnutrition, and malaria, guiding pediatric health interventions and supporting efforts to prevent child mortality. 

DATA IN FOCUS

Recorded Perinatal Deaths

Under-five mortality includes perinatal deaths (stillbirths and early neonatal deaths), neonatal deaths, infant and child deaths.

Our DeCoDe data relating to perinatal deaths is summarised below.

Click to enlarge the graphs below.

Data updated: 26 March 2025

DATA EXPLORER

Causes of Death by Age Group

CHAMPS surveillance sites utilize notification systems which report all under-5 deaths and stillbirths to the local team within 24 hours of the child’s death. Site teams review each notification and contact family members of select cases to determine whether the case meets CHAMPS eligibility criteria (death at age <60 months or stillbirth; and residence in the defined geographic area).

Total Cases Completed

8947

Underlying Causes of Death by Age Group

Click the coloured filters to see breakdowns by age group

All

Stillbirth

Neonate

Infant/Child

Four Levels of Data Access

Summarized data are updated in real-time and available to all on our web site with one click. These data provide summaries of the CHAMPS eligible and enrolled cases at each surveillance site, as well as determined causes of death across each of our sites. Cause of death data are categorized by Stillbirth, Neonate, and Infant and Child, and provide separate views for all causes of death, and infectious etiologies. Data summaries are updated daily.

CHAMPS Data Dashboards

De-identified data can be downloaded as a curated standard data set after registration and electronic acceptance of a Data Transfer Agreement (DTA).

Standard data set includes:

Case demographics (including MITS measurements), verbal autopsy, DeCoDe results, TAC results, and lab results
Additional curated standard datasets in development
Data transformations performed to de-identify this dataset: Case identifiers replaced with surrogates; dates shifted; narrative/summary fields removed

To view documentation for the de-identified dataset prior to downloading, obtain descriptive metadata or the citation for the dataset, please visit the CHAMPS Dataverse and scroll to the bottom of the page.

To access the CHAMPS R package, visit our GitHub Portal. The package provides utilities to read and transform L2 s data into convenient formats, functions to compute several statistics of interest, and some utilities for presenting these statistics in various formats such as plots and HTML tables.

A curated limited data set is available following registration and execution of a Data Use Agreement (DUA). The delivery time for this data set is dependent on DUA execution, and is estimated at 4-8 weeks. Please request this data set via the link below and follow the instructions to complete and upload the Data Use Agreement (DUA).

Standard limited dataset includes:

Case demographics (including MITS measurements), verbal autopsy, DeCoDe results, TAC results, and lab results
Additional curated limited datasets in development
Data transformations performed to created this limited dataset: Case identifiers replaced with surrogates; narrative/summary fields removed

To view documentation for the limited dataset prior to downloading, obtain descriptive metadata or the citation, please visit the CHAMPS Dataverse and scroll to the bottom of the page.

To access the CHAMPS R package, visit our GitHub Portal. The package provides utilities to read and transform L2 data into convenient formats, functions to compute several statistics of interest, and some utilities for presenting these statistics in various formats such as plots and HTML tables.

Potentially identifiable datasets are only available via request. A CHAMPS staff member will contact you and provide further instructions once we receive your request.

A potentially identifying data set is available following registration, execution of a Data Use Agreement (DUA), and IRB approval. Timing is dependent on IRB approval and DUA execution, and is estimated at 3-6 months.

Privacy Constraints: Dependent on IRB approval – may include case photos, geo-location coordinates, free-text and narrative fields.

Understanding the Data

Mortality Coding Background

The World Health Organization (WHO) has established coding rules to ensure consistency in recording and classifying child causes of death worldwide. At each CHAMPS site, Determination of Cause of Death (DeCoDe) panels follow WHO guidelines to attribute child mortality using the ICD-11 classification system (11th International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems). This ensures that child mortality data are recorded in a globally comparable format. For each child death, an underlying cause is identified, which is the condition that started events that led to death. If the underlying cause led to another condition that was close to the time of death, an immediate cause is assigned. For example, a child with a lower respiratory infection may have that condition recorded as the immediate cause of death. If the child also had HIV, the underlying cause would be attributed to HIV as a preexisting condition that raised the risk of developing pneumonia. Other causes that led to death are called intermediate or comorbid causes. CHAMPS’ process also captures comorbid conditions that contribute but do not appear to have directly caused death.

Mortality Coding Background

The World Health Organization (WHO) has established coding rules to ensure consistency in recording and classifying child causes of death worldwide. At each CHAMPS site, Determination of Cause of Death (DeCoDe) panels follow WHO guidelines to attribute child mortality using the ICD-11 classification system (11th International Statistical Classification of Diseases…

Data Collection Methods

At CHAMPS surveillance sites, we implement efficient notification systems that report all under-5 child deaths and stillbirths to the local team within 24 hours. Our dedicated site teams promptly review each notification and reach out to families of selected cases to determine eligibility based on CHAMPS criteria.

If eligible, the team seeks informed consent from the parents or guardians to investigate the cause of death through minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) and laboratory investigations. These tests include microbiology, HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, along with advanced diagnostics for various pathogens and tissue histopathology. We also request consent to conduct caregiver interviews, known as verbal autopsies, to gather insights into the child’s symptoms and conditions leading to child death, ensuring we collect all relevant clinical records.

For cases where families grant consent MITS is performed, it typically takes four months to complete testing and compile information. An expert panel then reviews the results, assigning a final cause of death, which is shared with the family. Through this meticulous process, CHAMPS strives to provide critical child health statistics that inform pediatric health interventions, ultimately contributing to our mission of saving children’s lives.

Data Collection Methods

At CHAMPS surveillance sites, we implement efficient notification systems that report all under-5 child deaths and stillbirths to the local team within 24 hours. Our dedicated site teams promptly review each notification and reach out to families of selected cases to determine eligibility based on CHAMPS criteria. If eligible, the team seeks informed consent from the parents or guardians to…

Things to Note

At CHAMPS, our sites are continuously entering and transmitting vital data, which means some recent information may be incomplete or pending quality review. It’s important to note that only some some of the stillbirths and child deaths occurring in CHAMPS sites are reflected in our reports, with the number enrolled linked to timing of burials and CHAMPS teams’ ability to identify deaths quickly enough. The data
presented is not adjusted for deaths in children who are not enrolled or for overall population size. Consequently, any conclusions about the overall contribution of each child mortality cause to total deaths at a CHAMPS site or any other population should be made with caution. Please contact us with questions or feedback.

Things to Note

At CHAMPS, our sites are continuously entering and transmitting vital data, which means some recent information may be incomplete or pending quality review. It’s important to note that only some some of the stillbirths and child deaths occurring in CHAMPS sites are reflected in our reports, with the number enrolled linked to timing of burials and CHAMPS teams’ ability to identify deaths quickly enough. The data presented…