Every year, an estimated three million girls in sub-Saharan Africa and the
Middle East undergo FGM/C, and more than 130 million women and girls have been
subjected to the painful practice, the potential consequences of which include
prolonged bleeding, infection, infertility and even death. According to a 2006
WHO study, FGM/C may also lead to obstetrical complications during childbirth.
For example, women who have undergone FGM/C are more likely
to:
• Require a Cesarean section due to delivery
complications;
• Experience postpartum hemorrhage;
• Require an
episiotomy;
• Have an extended hospital stay;
• Give birth to a
child requiring resuscitation;
To put an end to this harmful practice,
UNICEF will spearhead a coordinated effort in 2007 to slash FGM/C in 16 African
countries by 2015 – the target year for achieving the Millennium Development
Goals.
Beyond the 2015 goal, the campaign will aim to eliminate the
practice altogether within a generation. UNICEF’s partners in this campaign
include other UN agencies, international financial institutions, civil society,
academia, the private sector and donor governments. For example, the Italian
government showed its commitment to end FGM/C in 2006 by contributing 1.8
million Euros to support FGM/C abandonment programmes in 11 African
countries.
The ambitious goal of eliminating FGM/C within a generation
can be achieved by building on the progress of existing programmes and
practices. Community-based programmes are particularly effective in combating
the problem. Among those efforts that have already met with success are:
• Tostan, a community-led education project in Senegal supported by
UNICEF. Tostan has been instrumental in inspiring tens of thousands of people to
declare their abandonment of FGM/C.
• The ‘FGM-Free Village Model’ project in Egypt, which brings together government, UN partners and NGOs to encourage villages to make public declarations against FGM/C.
• Sudan’s religious leaders are using their authority to affirm that
FGM/C is a violation of spiritual and theological principles.
Methods
such as these have already led to a decline in the practice of FGM/C in some
countries – among them the Central African Republic, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria and Yemen.