Impact
CHAMPS supports new lines of scientific inquiry through innovative use of our network.
Questions CHAMPS is investigating include:
Were children who died of malnutrition lacking specific nutrients?
With a new grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CHAMPS will test micronutrient levels in samples from deceased infants and children in six sites in Africa and in pregnant women in Ethiopia and Kenya.
What role do genetic disorders play in early childhood deaths?
CHAMPS is examining DNA and conducting metabolic screening for a subset of early childhood deaths to determine whether congenital disorders are more common than previously thought in high-mortality settings and whether routine screening for such conditions is needed.
Is malaria a significant cause of death in adults?
As people living in high-transmission areas gain immunity over time to the parasites that cause malaria, nearly all deaths from malaria in these areas are thought to occur in children. Recent data have challenged this assumption. CHAMPS is now investigating adult deaths at sites in Sierra Leone and Kenya, areas with high malaria transmission rates, to determine whether malaria contributed to a significant proportion of those deaths.