CHAMPS
Gathering Data & Providing Feedback on Causes of Infant Mortality
Project Information
Project Status: Active
Start Date: 2016
End Date: Ongoing
Countries: Sierra Leone
Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance
Despite reductions over the past two decades, childhood mortality remains high, particularly in low-income settings. Many of these deaths are sudden and seemingly inexplicable. The basic question of “why are our children dying at such a high rate?” echoes throughout Sierra Leone and many other countries worldwide.
WHI is helping implement the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) — a multi-country, long-term surveillance program targeted at understanding the cause of death in children under five. In partnership with Emory University, the Gates Foundation, and the Center for Disease Control, Bombali Shebora Chiefdom in Sierra Leone was selected as the latest site. WHI’s medical surveillance role includes organizing a reporting structure, collecting and recording all data, ongoing training of community and facility reporters, conducting verbal autopsies, reviewing all clinical records for data, and developing an improved data record collection.
CHAMPS aims to help families, communities, governments, and funders to understand the cause of stillbirths and childhood deaths. The project will bring change to public health action and save many lives by collecting essential data about the death of every child under the age of 5 in Bombali Shebora chiefdom.
Project Goals
- Identifying and understanding the causes of death in children under 5 years old in areas of Sub-Sahara Africa and South Asia where infant and childhood mortality are very high
- Identification and understanding can, and will, help countries, public health programs, and local and global child health advocates and policymakers in their efforts to prevent childhood deaths and illness.
Expected Outcomes
- Reduced infant mortality rates
- Data library to inform practitioners on reasons for infant motality
- Increased understanding by mothers and community members on the causes of infant mortality and how they themselves can help prevent them.
Notifications of death received in 2021
The basic question of ‘Why are our children dying at such a high rate?’ echoes throughout Sierra Leone and numerous countries
