The Upper East Regional Correspondent of the Daily Graphic, Gilbert Azeem Tiroog, has won two prestigious awards at the 5th Upper East Regional Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Awards. The awards ceremony was held in Bolgatanga, with the theme "Beyond the Headlines: The Media's Role in Promoting WASH for Safe Motherhood and Quality Health Care." Mr. Tiroog was adjudged Best Peace and Conflict-Sensitive Reporter of the Year and Best Mining and Natural Resources Reporter of the Year for 2025.
Mr. Tiroog's first award was for his story, "Dreams Buried by Bullets: How Bawku's children are paying the price for recurring conflict." The story highlighted the human cost of the protracted Bawku conflict, particularly its impact on children, their education, safety, well-being, and aspirations. The GJA cited Mr. Tiroog's story as giving prominence to the experiences of children whose education, safety, well-being, and aspirations have been disrupted by the conflict.
Mr. Tiroog's second award came in the Mining and Natural Resources Reporting category for his story, "Forced into poverty: The woes of farmers amid growing illegal mining activities." The GJA described the report as demonstrating exceptional journalistic commitment to public-interest reporting by drawing attention to an important environmental and socio-economic challenge.
Other award winners at the ceremony included Mr. Moses Appiah of A1 Radio, who was adjudged the Overall Journalist of the Year after winning the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Child Protection categories. Ms. Gladys Apuweni of GBC-URA Radio was named Female Journalist of the Year. Other winners included Mark Smith of A1 Radio, Peter Agengre of GBC, Castro Senyalah of TV3, and Nicholas Azebire of Dreamz FM.
The Upper East Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Braimah Baba Abubakari, delivered a keynote address at the ceremony, emphasizing the importance of WASH in quality healthcare and safe childbirth. He noted that the region recorded a skilled delivery rate of 78.86 percent in 2025, while maternal mortality increased from 97.1 to 132.43 deaths per 100,000 live births between 2024 and 2025.
The Upper East Regional Chairman of the GJA, Albert Sore, urged journalists to move beyond reporting the commissioning of health facilities and government interventions to examining whether such interventions were improving lives. He encouraged journalists to investigate the availability of running water, functional toilets, and adequate sanitation and hygiene facilities at health facilities.
The 5th Upper East Regional GJA Awards were sponsored by several organizations, including Lesken Enterprise Limited, MyTurn Limited, and KacStone Records as headline sponsors. Category sponsors included ActionAid Ghana, Afrikids Ghana, NABOCADO, Endswell Pharmacy, and MTN. The awards ceremony was attended by notable figures, including the Member of Parliament for Bongo, Charles Adongo Bawaduah.
Key points
- Gilbert Azeem Tiroog won two awards at the 5th Upper East Regional Ghana Journalists Association Awards.
- The awards ceremony was held in Bolgatanga, with the theme "Beyond the Headlines: The Media's Role in Promoting WASH for Safe Motherhood and Quality Health Care."
- The Upper East Regional Director of Health Services emphasized the importance of WASH in quality healthcare and safe childbirth.
