PBC Sr. Producer wins top UNFPA media award in electronic category

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Mar, 2026) A senior producer of Radio Pakistan Peshawar, Ikramullah Marwat, has secured first position in the Electronic Media category at the All Pakistan Media Coalition Competition organized by United Nations Population Fund and Population Council Pakistan, bringing a major honor to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

More than 60 prominent journalists from across the country participated in the competition, which featured two categories: Electronic Media and Print Media. Notably, the first positions in both categories were won by journalists from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Ikramullah Marwat won the top award for his radio feature report titled “Impacts of Rapid Population Growth on Human Health and Behavior.”

The competition included entries from journalists affiliated with local, national and international media outlets, including BBC, DW and Independent urdu.

The award-winning feature highlighted the growing population’s impact on human health and social behavior, focusing generally on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and particularly on the provincial capital Peshawar. The report incorporated views of experts from different fields.

Renowned psychologist Dr. Khalid Mufti, speaking in the feature, noted that in 1977 there were hardly any reported psychiatric patients in Peshawar, whereas today nearly every third person faces some form of psychological issue, largely due to unplanned population growth and increasing economic pressures.

The report also shed light on several challenges linked to rapid population growth, including expanding housing societies, environmental changes, overcrowded hospitals, underground water contamination, cramped rental housing and the disappearance of playgrounds.

The competition jury praised the report as an outstanding effort to highlight the issue and raise public awareness through impactful storytelling.

In the Print Media category, Wisal Yousafzai of The Express Tribune secured the first position.

Other notable winners included M. Afridi, islam Gul Afridi, Khaista Rehman, Khalida Niaz, Adnan Lodhi (Lahore) and Rafiullah Mandokhail (Quetta).

Earlier, on March 12, the Population Council Pakistan, in collaboration with the Information Service academy (ISA) and the United Nations Population Fund, organized a Media Coalition meeting in Islamabad to highlight the media’s role in advancing Pakistan’s National Action Plan on Population under the Council of Common Interests.

The meeting brought together senior journalists, communication experts and representatives from government institutions who discussed how evidence-based reporting can strengthen accountability, raise public awareness about population challenges and improve government responses.

Addressing the gathering, Senior Director of Population Council Pakistan Dr. Ali Mir emphasized the role of responsible journalism in shaping a national narrative that balances population growth with available resources and highlighted the need for media to point out implementation gaps and service delivery challenges.

Manager Communications at Population Council Pakistan Ikram ul Ahad also spoke on the human dimension of Pakistan’s rapidly growing population and reproductive health challenges, noting that limited access to family planning services continues to contribute to high maternal mortality, particularly among poor rural women.

He said Pakistan records around six million unintended pregnancies annually, of which about 3.8 million end in abortions, many carried out under unsafe conditions.

The meeting concluded with a renewed commitment to strengthen collaboration among the media, government institutions and development partners to accelerate progress on national population and reproductive health goals. Certificates of appreciation were also distributed among the competition winners.