Press Trust has asked government through Nation Publications Limited (NPL) to take care of donated the equipment in the hospitals.

Trustee Radson Mwadiwa said this when he  officially handed over a K10 million Cheque towards Mother’s Fun Run (MFR) an initiative by NPL where funds are raised towards addressing maternal challenges in a particular district each year.

In his speech, Mwadiwa said that the trust is proud to have been a partner of MFR since its inception 14 years ago but expressed concern that while partners such as Press Trust and NPL support in areas such as health sector, some of the donated equipment get destroyed because of poor maintenance.

He, therefore, urged NPL to pass on the message to government that such equipment needs good care to ensure its longevity.

“My appeal to NPL is that it passes on the message to government that this equipment needs to be adequately maintained. Over time, we have come to realize that some of the equipment needs just a small maintenance and yet it is thrown away and they expect partners to come in and support the same area instead of moving to other areas,” said Mwadiwa.

NPL chief executive officer Mbumba Banda was thankful for support being rendered to MFR by stakeholders such as the Press Trust.

“We have actually seen that a lot of organizations are coming in and staying and more often they are following an example of an organisation they respect such as Press Trust,” said Banda.

For the first time, this year, MFR is targeting two district hospitals of Likoma and Ntcheu but the trust has said its support should be channeled to Ntcheu District Hospital.

Press Trust will also allocate more resources in the health and education sectors in the next five years as it implements its strategic plan.

Over the past 22 years, the trust has channeled close to 40 percent of its resources towards the health sector alone.