UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Accelerating Change 2011

The objective of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting: Accelerating Change is to contribute to the abandonment of FGM/C in 17 African countries within a generation. The programme’s holistic, cross-border approach is focused on Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Launched in 2007, the Joint Programme aims to achieve a 40 per cent reduction in the practice of FGM/C on infants and girls up to age 15 by 2012. It is also expected that at least one country will declare the total abandonment of the practice during the same period. The year 2011 showed a surge in activities to strengthen the role of public health services in preventing FGM/C:

• Nearly 2,744 communities publicly declared their abandonment of FGM/C;
• Across the 15 Joint Programme countries, 141 cases violating national laws against FGM/C were prosecuted in court;
• Nearly 19,584 community education sessions took place;
• More than 3,485 newspaper articles and TV and radio programmes discussed the benefits of ending the practice;
• Nearly 300 health facilities included FGM/C prevention in their antenatal and neonatal care;
• Nearly 4,107 religious leaders taught their followers that FGM/C is not sanctioned by Islam;
• And nearly 1,000 religious edicts were issued in support of the abandonment of the practice.