CHAMPS Nigeria – Cross River State
About Our Work
CHAMPS Nigeria–Cross River joined the Network in 2023 and completed its first MITS in 2024. The program operates in seven local government areas within the Cross River Southern Senatorial District, encompassing both urban and rural demographics. CHAMPS activities are implemented through the University of Calabar (UNICAL) and the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), which receives support from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC). The site also works closely with the Cross River State Ministry of Health and Nigeria’s National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), ensuring national alignment and technical leadership in mortality surveillance, infectious disease control, and evidence synthesis.
Our Impact
CHAMPS Nigeria in Cross River State is committed to improving child health by leveraging data-driven strategies to prevent child mortality and enhance maternal and child health outcomes. Through collaboration with government agencies, healthcare providers, and traditional and religious leaders, CHAMPS works to understand the factors influencing care-seeking behaviors during pregnancy, childbirth, and the newborn period.
By engaging communities and stakeholders, CHAMPS develops and implements practical interventions to reduce under-five deaths and improve access to child healthcare. The initiative also strengthens partnerships with local health systems to ensure the sustainability of maternal and child health programs in Nigeria.
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Meet our Directors
Professor Martin Meremikwu is a tenured Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health at the College of Medical Sciences University of Calabar in Cross River State, Nigeria, where he also leads the clinical trials and evidence-based healthcare program of the Calabar Institute of Tropical Diseases Research and Prevention. He obtained an MBBCH at the University of Calabar in 1985 and a Master of Science in Mother and Child Health at the Institute of Child Health, University London, United Kingdom, in 1993. He holds a specialist fellowship from the Faculty of Pediatrics of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health, United Kingdom. He has received additional training and fellowships in disease control, clinical trials, research ethics, evidence-based healthcare, research synthesis, and Project Management in Global Health. Currently, he teaches most of these topics in postgraduate programs at the University of Calabar and as short courses. He pioneered the Cross River Health and Demographic Surveillance System (Cross River HDSS), which became a member site of the INDEPTH Network in 2014. Prof. Meremikwu has served as Editor of the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group for several years and still maintains an active link with the group by providing support to systematic review authors. He is the Director of Cochrane Nigeria and the current Chair of the Nigerian National TB/HIV Technical Working Group. He sits on several boards and scientific research committees, including the EDCTP, NIMR (Nigeria Institute for Medical Research). He was awarded the Kenneth Warren Prize for excellence in developing Cochrane systematic reviews in 2009. He has over 150 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He has led and contributed to the development of many guidelines and policy documents, including evidence syntheses and guidelines for FGM, COVID-19 IPC, etc. Professor Martin is presently the Co-Chair of the CHAMPS Network Steering Committee.
Key Partners
CHAMPS Working in Nigeria to Save Lives
Discover the stories of hope and change as CHAMPS works tirelessly saving children’s lives in Cross River State, Nigeria.