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. 2020 Oct 22:8:584281.
doi: 10.3389/fped.2020.584281. eCollection 2020.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Evacuation and Care During a Natural Disaster: The Experience of Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique

Serena Calgaro  1   2 , Martina Borellini  1   2 , Amir Hussein Abubacar Seni  3 , Maria Concetta Tirzi  2 , Antonio Marcos Dias Gimo  3 , Bonifacio Rodriguez Cebola  3 , Giovanni Putoto  2 , Daniele Trevisanuto  1
Affiliations

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Evacuation and Care During a Natural Disaster: The Experience of Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique

Serena Calgaro et al. Front Pediatr. .

Abstract

Global warming has increased the frequency of natural disasters, such as cyclones. Mozambique is considered one of the most vulnerable countries to extreme weather events. Natural disasters particularly affect vulnerable people, including preterm and critical ill infants of Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). Literature on NICU evacuations in the case of a natural disaster has been reported in high-resource settings, but it is lacking in low-resource settings. On the 14th of March 2019, a tropical cyclone (Idai) hit Mozambique. This report is a descriptive analysis of the experience of the NICU evacuation and care during and after cyclone Idai at Beira Central Hospital, Beira, Mozambique.

Keywords: Mozambique; NICU; cyclone; natural disaster; neonatology.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Time line of events and interventions.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Layout of the original and “new” NICU at the CHB hospital.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The neonatal intensive care unit the day after the cyclone.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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