The following is an update from the CHAMPS Ethiopia newsletter. Read more to learn about their recent progress and future programmatic steps.  Subscribe to the newsletter here.
 

We are having a busy time in Harar and Kersa and want to share our news with you!
 

Our Child Health, Pregnancy and Mortality Prevention Surveillance Program (CHAMPS)  in Ethiopia starts with social science, whilst we develop laboratory and other capacity for future work to understand the causes of child death in the under fives and stillbirths.
 

 

Dr. Ordi is seen here with Dr. Getamesay (HU Pathologist) and Prof. Anthony Scott (CHAMPS-Ethiopia PI).
 

Dr Jaume Ordi, CHAMPS Pathologist from IS Global, Barcelona, visited with Dr Dianna Blau, CHAMPS Laboratory Lead from Emory, Atlanta to advise on laboratory development. This built on advice and a helpful visit from Mr Brett Lowe and Dr Claire Gordon (Laboratory Director and Microbiologist from KEMRI-Wellcome Trust, Kenya).
 

Our social science team has designed a strategy to work in the community with an aim to understand acceptability, feasibility and practicality of CHAMPS in Ethiopia, together with Liz O’Mara, Ahoua Kone, from the CHAMPS Program Office in Atlanta, and Maria Maixenchs from Barcelona, Spain. This was shortly followed with Participatory Inquiry into Community Knowledge (PICK-CHAMPS) training with John Blevins. Undertaking this work is now in progress, led by Dr Gutema with Zerhune and Yosef.
 

What is coming up ?

• We will be hosting Nana Sarkodie Mensah (Project Coordinator at LSHTM) in September, who may be joined by Mischka Garel (Project Manager CHAMPS-PO).
• We look forward to the return of the social science team from CHAMPS-PO in September for further training as the formative research develops based on PICK-CHAMPS.