The equipment donated to the Nation Publications Limited (NPL) initiative include a 5000 liter water-tank, five wheel-chairs and a patient monitoring parameter.

Alliance One Tobacco Malawi Corporate Affairs Officer Ben Kawonga said the initiative is aimed at improving the living standards of local communities.

Kawonga said, “Our CSR program mainly focuses on health, education, water and sanitation and climate change reduction among others, hence the Mothers Fun Run activity also goes in-line with one of its CSR thematic areas of health which primarily target at improving peoples’ health standards in the country.”

Kawonga said the company decided to organize the event to this year because “we cannot leave everything in the hands of government to deal with all the challenges that are there in the local health sector, hence joining hands with NPL in donating these equipment.”

This is the fifth time Alliance One Tobacco has been joining other companies and individuals in bailing out the country’s mothers through the annual Mothers Fun Run initiative.

On his part, NPL’s Business Development Manager Chimwemwe Jere hailed Alliance One Tobacco for the donation.

Jere said, “We know the donation will go a long way in reducing some of the challenges which patients especially mothers and children face in hospitals when accessing medical services.”

Jere hailed Alliance One Tobacco the donation to the annual Mothers Fun Run initiative for the past five years.

“As you might be aware the annual Mothers Fun Run initiative aims at improving the standards of heath care for both maternal and neonatal issues in the country’s public health facilities and this year, we are targeting Ntcheu and Likoma public health facilities,” Jere said.

A brain-child of NPL, the Mothers Fun Run initiative, among other things, aims at mobilizing various medical supplies, equipment and assistance to improve both maternal and neonatal health services, mainly in health facilities found in rural areas.

This year, NPL takes the Mothers Fun Run activities to Likoma and Ntcheu.