Peer-reviewed article

Causes of Death Among Stillbirths and Children Aged <5 Years in Africa and South Asia — Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance, Seven Countries, 2016–2024

Zachary J. Madewell, Ziyaad Dangor, Portia C. Mutevedzi, Siobhan Johnstone, Sanjay G. Lala et al. · 8 Sept 2026

Abstract

Problem/Condition: Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have the highest rates of stillbirths and rates of death among children aged <5 years, with many countries in those regions unlikely to meet the 2030 goal of ending preventable deaths among newborns and children aged <5 years. Conventional mortality surveillance (determining cause of death through interviews with family members or caregivers [i.e., verbal autopsy] and vital registration) in areas with high mortality often lacks laboratory confirmation of causes and incompletely identifies maternal contributors and comorbid conditions, providing information that is insufficiently specific to guide prevention efforts. Period Covered: December 2016-December 2024. Description of System: The Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) network generates standardized, laboratory-confirmed data on causes and preventability of deaths among neonates, infants, and children aged <5 years and stillbirths in areas with high mortality. During 2016-2024, CHAMPS operated in seven countries (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and South Africa) through population-defined catchment areas. Eligibility required residence in a CHAMPS catchment area for ≥4 months before death or, for children aged <4 months, since birth. Deaths were investigated using a standardized postmortem approach that included minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS), laboratory investigations (conventional and molecular microbiology and histopathology), interviews with family members or caregivers (i.e., verbal autopsy), and pediatric and maternal clinical record abstraction. Multidisciplinary determination of cause-of-death (DeCoDe) panels integrated evidence to assign causes (including multiple causes per death) and assess preventability. Results: During 2016-2024, a total of 18,784 eligible deaths were identified; families consented to CHAMPS enrollment for 15,612 (83.1%) of these deaths. MITS was completed for 9,415 deaths and DeCoDe was completed for 8,500 (90.3% of MITS-investigated deaths); a total of 3,199 (37.6%) were stillbirths; 3,230 (38.0%) were neonatal deaths; and 2,071 (24.4%) were deaths of infants (aged 28 days to <12 months) and children (aged ≥12 to <60 months). Stillbirths were predominantly attributed to perinatal asphyxia or hypoxia (79.1%), often with maternal hypertensive disorders, placental abnormalities, chorioamnionitis, and other medical conditions (e.g., diabetes). Neonatal deaths involved preterm complications (39.7%); asphyxia or hypoxia (37.7%), which often is linked to maternal and intrapartum care; and sepsis (36.5%), commonly resulting from infection with Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii. Among infants and children, leading causes of death included lower respiratory infections (37.4%), sepsis (36.9%), malnutrition (27.3%), malaria (22.1%), and diarrheal disease (17.3%). Multiple conditions in the causal chain were common among neonates (44.3% with two or more conditions) and infants and children (67.9% with two or more conditions). Postmortem anthropometry indicated high levels of moderate or severe undernutrition among infants and children; among those with available measurements, nonmutually exclusive anthropometric indicators included underweight (61.3%), wasting (61.3%), and stunting (43.0%), according to the World Health Organization's Child Growth Standards. Among neonatal, infant, and child deaths (excluding stillbirths), infection contributed to 3,146 (59.3%) deaths. Among neonatal, infant, and child deaths with one or more pathogens identified in the causal chain (n = 2,749), 44.5% were polymicrobial, with gram-negative bacteria predominating. Main maternal conditions, most commonly placental complications and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, were assigned for 71.1% of stillbirths and 58.2% of neonatal deaths. Of 7,558 deaths with a preventability assessment, 6,103 (80.7%) were considered preventable or possibly preventable through improvements in already available maternal, newborn, and child health interventions; primary opportunities included strengthened antenatal care, obstetric management, and infection control. Interpretation: CHAMPS complements conventional mortality surveillance by providing standardized, laboratory-confirmed, postmortem evidence on causes and preventability of stillbirths and of deaths among neonates, infants, and children aged <5 years across areas with high mortality. Findings demonstrate that preventable infections, suboptimal antenatal care, intrapartum complications, preterm birth, and malnutrition account for most deaths and also involve maternal and health care system factors. The predominance of infections caused by gram-negative bacteria highlights the need to strengthen infection prevention and control and to develop preventive tools, including vaccines. Public Health Action: Four of every five deaths were potentially preventable with timely implementation of established maternal, newborn, and child health interventions. CHAMPS demonstrates that high-precision postmortem MITS is feasible in resource-constrained settings and provides data critical to improve maternal and child health planning, practice, and policy. Certain components of CHAMPS (e.g., standardized MITS training, targeted diagnostics, and multidisciplinary review) could be adapted to strengthen routine surveillance and mortality review systems where feasible.