Female genital mutilation has declined in south-east Nigeria — UNICEF

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February 15, 2018 4:07 PM

UNICEF's joint efforts with the UNFPA has helped to reduce cases of FGM in the South-Eastern part of Nigeria.

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have jointly declared that the prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) within the South-east region of Nigeria has declined by nearly 25% since the year 2000.

This stemmed from UNICEF's joint efforts with the UNFPA to end the scourge in some countries, disclosed at a recent one-day policy dialogue with Women of Divine Destiny Initiative (WODDI) with support from UNICEF/UNFPA in Owerri, capital of Imo State with the theme 'Ending female genital mutilation is a political decision'.

The UNICEF's Chief of Field Office, Enugu, Dr. Ibrahim Conteh said "Around the world, momentum to eliminate female genital mutilation is building. Political will, community engagement, and targeted investment are changing practices and changing lives."

According to Conteh, in countries where UNFPA and UNICEF work jointly to end female genital mutilation, girls are one-third less likely to undergo this harmful practice today than they were in 1997. More than 25 million people in some 18,000 communities across 15 countries have publicly disavowed the practice since 2008. Globally, its prevalence has declined by nearly a quarter since around 2000.

"The Sustainable Development Goals recognize that female genital mutilation undermines progress towards a more equal, just, and prosperous world. They set an ambitious target of eliminating all such harmful practices against girls and women by 2030", it noted.

In her remarks, the wife of the governor of Imo state, Mrs. Nkechi Rochas Okorocha commended all genuinely committed efforts to the elimination of the practice.

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