A media coalition meeting in Islamabad organized by the Population Council in partnership with the Information Service Academy and UNFPA pressed provinces to take concrete steps to accelerate implementation of Pakistan’s population plan. Senior journalists, communication specialists and government representatives discussed how evidence-based reporting can boost accountability and raise public awareness of rising population challenges.
Dr. Ali Mir, Senior Director at the Population Council, emphasized the vital role of responsible journalism in shaping a national narrative that balances population and resources. He urged the media to highlight gaps in the population plan’s implementation, service delivery obstacles and the lived realities of communities so that provincial and federal commitments translate into measurable results.
Adnan Akram Bajwa of the Information Service Academy reiterated his institution’s commitment to provide verified information and professional training for journalists. He noted that media is not merely a channel for messages but a key pillar in building public consensus around the population plan and in promoting policies that align family resources with household needs.
Ikram Al-Ahad, Manager Communications at the Population Council, underscored the human consequences of limited access to family planning. He highlighted that Pakistan records around 6 million unintended pregnancies each year, of which roughly 3.8 million end in abortion, many under unsafe conditions. Those figures, he said, point to a crisis of access: when contraceptive options are unavailable, women—especially poor rural women—lose control over their health and futures.
Members of the media coalition, including Zafar Sultan (PTV) and Daniyal Umar (Samaa TV), presented a joint review of progress under the Council of Common Interests framework across Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Islamabad. Their assessment identified persistent challenges: stark urban-rural disparities in health services, shortages of lady health workers, repeated disruptions in contraceptive supplies, uneven policy implementation and limited access in remote districts.
Participants at the meeting stressed that continuous, responsible reporting grounded in data is essential to expose system weaknesses and to convert provincial and federal pledges into concrete improvements in reproductive health services. Journalists called for stronger media focus on maternal health, access to maternity and reproductive care in rural areas, and service delivery failures that hinder the population plan’s objectives.
Dr. Jamil Ahmed Chaudhry, Program Specialist at UNFPA, called for collective action to protect the health and rights of women and girls, reminding attendees that every preventable maternal or newborn death underscores the urgency of immediate measures. The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to strengthen collaboration among media, government bodies and development partners to accelerate progress on the population plan and improve reproductive health outcomes across Pakistan.
