Joint Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore and UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, NEW YORK, 5 February 2021, – , “Two million additional cases of female genital mutilation may occur over the next decade as COVID-19 shutters schools and disrupts programmes that help protect girls from this harmful practice.  “We must act now to stop this from happening. “Even before COVID-19 upended progress, the Sustainable Development Goals target of ending female genital…, unite, . Ending female genital mutilation requires collaboration among a wide group of stakeholders. This includes global, regional, national and local policymakers; civil society from small grass-roots organizations and women’s rights groups to international non-governmental organizations; agents of change from teachers and health workers to religious…, fund, our efforts at a level equal to our commitment. Even in countries where female genital mutilation is already declining, progress needs to increase ten-fold to meet the global target of elimination by 2030. This will require some $2.4 billion over the next decade, which breaks down to less than $100 per girl. This is a very small price to pay for…, act, , quickly, decisively and on many fronts simultaneously. We need to ensure that girls have access to education, health care – including sexual and reproductive health services – and livelihoods, and that they are protected by laws, policies and new social norms. Let us encourage the leadership skills of adolescent girls and their male peers and…

In Mali, a matron is mobilizing people to discuss the harmful consequences of female genital mutilation

Goal Area 3 aims to ensure that every girl and boy is protected from violence and exploitation in keeping with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and supports the achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular Goals 5, 8 and 16. Two years into implementation of the UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2018–2021, Goal…

Since 2008, UNFPA and UNICEF have been implementing the Joint Programme to Eliminate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Drawing on best practices and lessons learned, Phase III will build on the Joint Programme’s momentum in galvanizing a global movement to end FGM by intensifying efforts and increasing resources to address the growing number of…

This technical note, developed by the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation, supports the development of preparedness and response plans for addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on girls and women at risk of and affected by female genital mutilation. Download file (PDF, 3,33 MB)

The ACT Framework measures and tracks changes in social norms in relation to female genital mutilation. It includes a menu of tested mixed-method tools and indicators that is accessible and practical for programme planners and is adaptable to the local context. Download file (PDF, 2,72 MB)

NEW YORK,, 6 February 2020, – Around 1 in 4 girls and women who have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM), or 52 million FGM survivors worldwide, were cut by health personnel, according to a new analysis by UNICEF. This proportion is twice as high among adolescents: 34 per cent of FGM victims 15-19 years of age have undergone medicalized FGM, compared to 16 per cent of…

First, let me congratulate the US mission for bringing us together on this important issue. Ending FGM is a matter of rights. A matter of health and safety — both physical and psychological. A matter of equality, education and economic growth. And a matter of dignity — giving every girl and woman a chance to make her own decisions and shape her…, governments, to follow the leadership of Burkina Faso — our next panellist — to enact new policies, legislation and action plans focused on ending this practice. We urge, global donors, to increase their investments to help us meet the challenge of a growing population in FGM-prevalent countries — particularly in Africa. We will not meet the SDG target unless we boost funding for these communities. Tens of millions of girls are at risk. We must not let them down. Let’s also be vocal in our support for the, African Heads of State, who launched a continental campaign to end this practice last month. We urge our partners to join us in intensifying our, advocacy efforts, . With families and communities, to deliver more information about this practice and the benefits of abandoning it. With religious leaders to help us strike down the myth about FGM having any religious basis. And with medical professionals to end the medicalization of FGM — the normalization of a practice which inflicts so much long-term harm…

  Each year, around 4 million girls worldwide are at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM), with most girls cut before the age of 15. There has been significant progress made in eliminating the harmful practice, but more is needed, and fast, if we are to end it once and for all. FGM is a violation of girls’ and women’s fundamental…

Together with UNICEF, UNFPA works to accelerate the abandonment of FGM.