Name

CHAMPS

Legal name

CHAMPS (Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance)

Website

https://champshealth.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

CHAMPS is a global child mortality surveillance network using Minimally Invasive Tissue Sampling (MITS) across 9 countries to attribute causes of under-5 deaths and stillbirths, serving ministries of health, WHO, CDC, and global health researchers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Global Health Surveillance and Child Mortality Prevention

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

Sentinel Site & Community-Based Surveillance (HLAJANAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL) for Global Health (BPADAIAO), Vaccine-Preventable Disease Surveillance & Coverage Monitoring (HLAJABAK), Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA)

Keywords

• Child mortality surveillance
• Minimally invasive tissue sampling
• Cause of death determination
• Global health research network
• Public health data sharing

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CHAMPS is a global surveillance network that uses Minimally Invasive Tissue Sampling (MITS), cutting-edge diagnostics, clinical information, and family engagement to investigate causes of stillbirths and child deaths in 22 catchment areas across 9 countries in Africa and South Asia. The network disseminates findings through open-access dashboards, peer-reviewed publications, a centralized biorepository, pathology image archives, and technical assistance to ministries of health to inform evidence-based policy and interventions.

Product overview

CHAMPS (Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance) is a global surveillance network operating 22 catchment areas in 9 countries across Africa and South Asia. The core offering is the CHAMPS Network itself—a surveillance platform that uses Minimally Invasive Tissue Sampling (MITS), cutting-edge diagnostics, clinical information, and family engagement to investigate causes of stillbirths and child deaths. The network provides access to its data through the CHAMPS Dashboards (real-time summarized data), a REDCap-based Data Request System (for full datasets), and maintains open-source resources including the Knowledge Repository (publications, case studies, protocols), CHAMPS on GitHub (including the CHAMPS Level 2 Data R Package for statistical analysis), CHAMPS Pathology Images (autopsy and tissue sample documentation), and The CHAMPS Biorepository. Specialized offerings include ARM-CHAMPS (a nested study on micronutrient deficiencies) and The StoryHelper Manual (a digital storytelling guide for health promotion). The network operates through a collaborative structure with site directors coordinating surveillance activities and a Program Office providing centralized support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ARM-CHAMPS: Assessing the Role of Micronutrients through CHAMPS - a special study examining vitamin and mineral deficiencies among children and pregnant women

Products and services

• CHAMPS Network (Global Surveillance Network) A global surveillance network of 22 catchment areas in 9 countries in Africa and South Asia that generates and shares accurate information on causes of stillbirths and child deaths using innovative diagnostic methods, Minimally Invasive Tissue Sampling (MITS), clinical information, and family engagement.
• CHAMPS Dashboards Real-time data dashboards providing summarized child mortality data across CHAMPS sites, updated continuously and accessible to public health leaders and decision makers.
• Knowledge Repository Comprehensive open-source repository of CHAMPS publications, case studies, reports, protocols, manuals, and resources supporting research and advocacy on child mortality.
• CHAMPS on GitHub Open-source code repositories including the CHAMPS Level 2 Data R Package for statistical analysis of CHAMPS datasets.
• CHAMPS Pathology Images Repository of pathology slide images from CHAMPS investigations documenting causes of death including tissue samples, immunostaining, and autopsy findings.
• The CHAMPS Biorepository Repository of biological specimens collected during CHAMPS surveillance activities for future research purposes.
• Case Studies Evidence briefs and case studies from CHAMPS sites showcasing local interventions addressing neonatal infections, care delays, malnutrition, malaria, and other causes of child mortality.
• ARM-CHAMPS (Assessing the Role of Micronutrients) A special nested study examining vitamin and mineral deficiencies among children who died and enrolled in CHAMPS, and among pregnant women at Kenya and Ethiopia sites.
• The StoryHelper Manual A practical guide providing a user-centered framework for designing digital stories as health promotion interventions, bridging digital media and public health.
• Data Request System (REDCap) REDCap-based data request and fulfillment system for accessing CHAMPS datasets through a structured request and approval process.

Quantifiable outcome

• 72% of child deaths reviewed were found to be preventable; 1 in 3 deaths could have been prevented by improving clinical management (Sierra Leone site)
• +4 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 July 2025CHAMPS partnered with HPI to pioneer digital storytelling for global health communication. The inaugural StoryHelper Workshop on Digital Storytelling was held virtually in July 2025, equipping communications officers from across the network with skills to create effective health promotion interventions.
• Taskforce for Global HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CHAMPS Program Office is headquartered within The Taskforce for Global Health, providing institutional support, administrative infrastructure, and connection to global health networks and partnerships.
• Emory UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmory University's Rollins School of Public Health hosts the CHAMPS Program Office and provides academic oversight, research leadership, and faculty expertise for the network's scientific activities.
• US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDC provides technical expertise, surveillance support, and funding to CHAMPS. CDC scientists co-developed the CHAMPS Taqman Array Card and provide ongoing expertise in epidemiology, outbreak response, and global health security.
• World Health Organization (WHO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWHO participates in CHAMPS network activities and its guidelines and policy recommendations are informed by CHAMPS data. CHAMPS findings contribute to WHO's child survival guidance and global health policy.
• Africa CDCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrica Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborates with CHAMPS on public health surveillance and data sharing. Dr. Raji Tajudeen of Africa CDC serves on the CHAMPS Global Partners Board.
• Ministries of Health (Network Countries)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCHAMPS works with ministries of health in all 9 network countries (Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mali, Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria, Pakistan) to conduct surveillance and translate findings into national health policies.
• National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCHAMPS partners with national public health institutes in network countries to use child mortality surveillance data for evidence-based policy development, including better nutrition, immunization programs, and child survival interventions.
• Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKEMRI collaborates on CHAMPS Kenya site activities and research. Prof. Elijah Songok, Acting Director General of KEMRI, has praised CHAMPS for bringing science closer to decision-making and policy design.
• icddr,b (International Centre for Diarrheal Diseases Research, Bangladesh)coreStrategic or Co-development Partnericddr,b hosts the CHAMPS Bangladesh site and provides research infrastructure, clinical facilities, and scientific expertise. Dr. Shams El Arifeen serves as Senior Director of MCH Division at icddr,b.
• African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAIMS provides internship opportunities for CHAMPS, hosting students from its Rwanda campus who contribute to CHAMPS research efforts, particularly in mathematical modeling and malaria research.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program: USAID-funded DHS Program conducts nationally representative household surveys on population, health, and mortality in low- and middle-income countries. It is a peer to CHAMPS for generating population-level mortality evidence used by ministries of health, though it relies on survey-based rather than tissue-sampling methods.
• icddr,b: icddr,b is a Bangladesh-based global health research institute that hosts the CHAMPS Bangladesh site. It is comparable as a multi-country infectious disease and maternal/child health research organization operating surveillance and clinical research infrastructure in similar geographies.
• Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME): IHME produces the Global Burden of Disease study and is a leading producer of comparative global health metrics. It is comparable to CHAMPS as another major generator of mortality and morbidity evidence used in global health policy, though it relies more heavily on modeling than primary surveillance.
• KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme: KEMRI-Wellcome Trust is a Kenya-based major research programme running clinical and epidemiological surveillance in East Africa. It is comparable to CHAMPS for child health surveillance, infectious disease research, and policy translation in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• INDEPTH Network: INDEPTH Network is a global consortium of health and demographic surveillance systems (HDSS) operating in low- and middle-income countries. It is the most direct peer to CHAMPS, sharing the sentinel-site model for population health surveillance and producing longitudinal cause-of-death data.
• Manhiça Health Research Center (CISM): CISM is a Mozambican health research center that hosts the CHAMPS Mozambique site. It is comparable as a Sub-Saharan African research center running demographic surveillance, clinical research, and infectious disease epidemiology with strong ties to global health institutions.

Others

• Taskforce for Global Health: The Taskforce for Global Health is CHAMPS's parent organization, hosting its Program Office. It is comparable as a global health non-profit operating multiple disease-focused programs and is a relevant institutional peer given its role in CHAMPS's governance and funding flow.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: CHAMPS's primary funder. While not a peer in the surveillance sense, the Gates Foundation is comparable to CHAMPS's broader ecosystem as a global health grantmaker that shapes child mortality research priorities and the funding landscape CHAMPS operates in.
• Emory Global Health Institute: Emory's Global Health Institute hosts the CHAMPS Program Office and provides academic leadership. It is comparable as an academic global health hub producing epidemiology and child mortality research, though it is a broader institution rather than a peer surveillance network.

Emerging players

• African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC): APHRC is an African-led research institute generating population health evidence across the continent. It is comparable to CHAMPS for its policy-relevant research output on child and maternal health, though it is more focused on urban health and broader demographic research than mortality surveillance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CHAMPS_Health
• GitHubgithub.com/EGHI-CHAMPS

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CHAMPS