Belgium, Germany and Sweden join forces with UNFPA and UNICEF to eliminate female genital mutilation
UNITED NATIONS, New York – The governments of Belgium, Germany and Sweden have promised new funding to UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Program for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation. An additional $23.1 million from donor countries will help prevent thousands of women and girls from undergoing FGM in the coming years.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is an outrageous form of gender-based violence that endangers the lives of millions of girls and women every year. In 25 countries where it is routinely practiced and data are available, an estimated 68 million girls are at risk of being subjected to FGM between 2015 and 2030 unless coordinated and accelerated action is taken. In many countries FGM is now outlawed, yet so deeply embedded in social norms that it is still carried out, mostly underground. Sometimes the practice is performed and supported by friends and family.
Since 2008, with the support of partners and donors, UNFPA and UNICEF have worked to end FGM through a joint program implemented in 17 countries. Over the years, the initiative has scaled up gender-sensitive and social approaches, catalyzing national action and legal frameworks to end this harmful practice.
Over the past decade, most countries supported by the Joint Program have implemented a law banning female genital mutilation. As of 2021, the program encouraged some 45 million community members to publicly denounce the practice and helped more than 6 million girls and women access comprehensive prevention and response services. The joint program also enabled the participation of more than 50 million people in education and social mobilization activities promoting the abolition of FGM.
Although the global community recognizes that ending FGM is central to achieving gender equality, programs to do so are not only underfunded, but their funding has declined. According to UNFPA’s analysis, reaching high coverage targets for 31 countries by 2030 would require an investment of $2.4 billion.
The joint program has not been immune to the funding shortfall, with only $49.5 million of the $334.5 million budget funded, resulting in a funding gap of $285.0 million. The support of new partners, such as Belgium ($3.1 million) and Germany ($2 million), as well as a continuous long-term commitment from Sweden (with an additional $18 million), is essential for the joint program to continue its critical work, by addressing the root causes of gender inequality and reshaping the power imbalances that underlie FGM, as well as creating more sustainable solutions to address it.
The new contributions from Belgium, Germany and Sweden are part of a global movement to eliminate FGM, and support the vision of creating a world where every girl and woman can claim their bodily autonomy and where attitudes, gender norms and power relations are transformed into end training once and for all.
The joint program is generously funded by the governments of Austria, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain (through AECID), Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.