CHAMPS Kenya
About Our Work
CHAMPS Kenya joined the network in 2016 and conducted its first MITS in 2017. The program operates in Kisumu’s densely populated urban settlements and the rural areas of Siaya County, partnering with Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) and Kisumu East District Hospital. Together, these collaborations strengthen local capacity for mortality surveillance and data-to-action initiatives.
Our Impact
By leveraging data-driven strategies and collaborating with local partners, CHAMPS is creating a positive impact and fostering a hopeful future for vulnerable children in Kenyan communities within Kisumu and Siaya County.
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Meet the Directors
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Meet our Directors
Dr. Hellen C. Muttai is Kenya’s Co-Site Principal Investigator for the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Program. Dr. Muttai joined CHAMPS after over 15 years of distinguished service in public health, disease surveillance, and implementation science. She previously served as a Medical Epidemiologist at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Nairobi, Kenya (2023-2025), where she led disease surveillance, implementation science research, and provided technical support to Kenya’s Ministry of Health. Her CDC career included serving as Branch Chief for the Western Kenya Branch (2014-2020), managing a team of 20 public health specialists, and overseeing multi-million-dollar HIV prevention and treatment programs that helped achieve the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets. She also led national HIV prevention efforts (2020-2022) and served as Senior Technical Advisor for HIV Care and Treatment Programs (2008-2013).
Dr. Muttai has extensive expertise in epidemiology, infectious disease surveillance, health systems strengthening, and capacity building. She has played key roles in major population-based surveys, including Kenya’s Key Populations Bio-behavioral Survey and Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment Survey. Her research contributions include developing HIV risk-score screening algorithms and geospatial analysis methods that have informed national and global health policies. She has published extensively on HIV, TB, and infectious disease epidemiology, with her work influencing WHO guidelines and national health policies.
Dr. Muttai completed her PhD in Public Health/Epidemiology from Maseno University in 2023, holds a Master’s in Public Health in Epidemiology from Moi University, and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) from Moi University.
Key Partners
Stories of CHAMPS in Action
Explore stories of hope and impact as CHAMPS transforms the lives of children in Kenya through data-driven solutions and local partnerships.
Site Stories
Publication
Gachau S, Akelo V, Cleveland A, Were J, Khagayi S, et al. (2025) A comparison of all-cause and HIV cause-specific mortality among children under 5 years of age before and during COVID-19 in Kenya, 2018–2022. PLOS Global Public Health 5(5): e0004338. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0004338
Publication
Post-mortem study of endemic human coronaviruses (HCoV-NL63, OC43, 229E and HKU-1) in deaths of children under five in low- and middle-income countries: Findings from the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) study
Baillie, V., Dangor, Z., Blau, D. M., Mahtab, S., Du Toit, J., Assefa, N., Oundo, J., Kidanemariam, Z. T., Scott, J. A. G., Ameh, S., Ogbuanu, I. U., Ojulong, J., Bunn, J., Kotloff, K. L., Sow, S. O., Tapia, M. D., Keita, A. M., Garrine, M., Mandomando, I., . . . Madhi, S. A. (2025). Post-mortem study of endemic human coronaviruses (HCoV-NL63, OC43, 229E and HKU-1) in deaths of children under five in low- and middle-income countries: Findings from the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) study. Journal of Clinical Virology, 178, 105804. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2025.105804
April 23, 2026
White Paper: Navigating Informed Consent in Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance Involving Minimally Invasive Tissue Sampling (MITS): The Kenyan Experience
April 16, 2026
Enhancing efficient laboratory results delivery to inform patient management, Siaya County Referral Hospital, Kenya
March 3, 2026
Improving Child Survival Through Extemporaneous Pediatric Formulations: Lessons from Jaramogi Oginga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu County, Kenya
August 1, 2024
Improving maternal and child health outcomes in Kuoyo Health Centre, Kenya
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
Publication
Gupta, P. M., Sivalogan, K., Oliech, R., Alexander, E., Klein, J., Addo, O. Y., Gethi, D., Akelo, V., Blau, D. M., & Suchdev, P. S. (2023). Impact of anthropometry training and feasibility of 3D imaging on anthropometry data quality among children under five years in a postmortem setting. PLOS ONE, 18(9), e0292046. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292046
Publication
Owuor, H. O., Akelo, V., Murila, F., et al. (2023). Prevalence and missed cases of respiratory distress syndrome disease amongst neonatal deaths enrolled in the Kenya Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance Network (CHAMPS) Program between 2017 and 2021. Global Pediatric Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333794X231212819
Publication
Reynolds, E. C., Onyango, D., Mwando, R., Oele, E., Misore, T., Agaya, J., Otieno, P., Tippett Barr, B. A., Lee, G. O., & Akelo, V. (2021). Mothers’ perspectives of complementary feeding practices in an urban informal settlement in Kisumu County, Western Kenya. Current Developments in Nutrition, 5(5). https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzab065
Publication
HIV Care Cascade Review: Case Reports from Kenya Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance Network (CHAMPS) Program
Publication
Ngere, S., Maixenchs, M., Khagayi, S., et al. (2024). Health care-seeking behavior for childhood illnesses in western Kenya: Qualitative findings from the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Study [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]. Gates Open Research, 8, 31. https://doi.org/10.12688/gatesopenres.14866.2
Publication
Otieno, P., Akelo, V., Khagayi, S., Omore, R., Akoth, K., Nyanjom, M., Ngere, S., Ochola, K., Maixenchs, M., Kone, A., Blevins, J., Zielinski-Gutierrez, E., & Tippett Barr, B. A. (2023). Acceptability of minimally invasive autopsy by community members and healthcare workers in Siaya and Kisumu counties, western Kenya, 2017–2018. PLOS Global Public Health, 3(9), e0001319. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001319
Publication
Fashina, T., Kuthyar, S., Blau, D., Garel, M., Oliech, R., Agaya, J., Mwanza, J. C., Huachun, A., Rao, P., Grossniklaus, H. E., Otieno, K., Akelo, V., Breiman, R., Shantha, J., & Yeh, S. (2022). Ophthalmic imaging and impression cytology findings in the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Network. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 63(7), 4471 – A0181.
Publication
Ngere, S. H., Akelo, V., Ondeng’e, K., Ridzon, R., Otieno, P., Nyanjom, M., Omore, R., & Tippett Barr, B. A. (2022). Traditional medicine beliefs and practices among caregivers of children under five years—The Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS), western Kenya: A qualitative study. PLOS ONE, 17(11), e0276735. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0276735
Publication
Causes of death in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected children in the child health and mortality prevention surveillance study in Kenya
Onyango, D. O., Akelo, V., van der Sande, M. A. B., Ridzon, R., Were, J. A., Agaya, J. A., Oele, E. A., Wandiga, S., Igunza, A. K., Young, P. W., Blau, D. M., Joseph, R. H., Yuen, C. M., Zielinski-Gutierrez, E., & Tippett-Barr, B. A. (2022). Causes of death in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected children aged under-five years in western Kenya. AIDS, 36(1). https://journals.lww.com/aidsonline/fulltext/2022/01010/causes_of_death_in_hiv_infected_and_hiv_uninfected.7.aspx
Publication