UNICEF releases new data on global prevalence of FGM/C
By Rachel Wine On March 8th, 2024, UNICEF released Female Genital Mutilation: A Global Concern, a new report with updated data on the global prevalence of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). Compared to data released eight years ago, this reveals a 15% increase in the practice; survivors now number at 230 million. Data in the report also indicates slow progress to ending FGM/C, with a lag behind the population overall, and stagnation in some countries. One such country, The Gambia, recently voted to repeal its ban on FGM/C. The report asserts that, “though the pace of progress is picking up, the rate of decline would need to be 27 times faster to meet the target of eliminating female genital mutilation by 2030.” While this report advances our understanding of FGM/C as a global practice and provides more relevant data for our work to end FGM/C, it is worth noting that Asian countries like India and Indonesia, and Middle Eastern countries like Pakistan and Iran are missing entirely. With the absence of this crucial data, we have no way of knowing the full scope of this harmful practice. This can be attributed to a lack of governmental support, as well as inadequate funding. Sahiyo recently participated in an event that draws attention to the lack of adequate funding in the FGM/C sphere, of which the real obstacles in our effects to enact change can be seen in this report. “From Rhetoric to Reality: Closing the Funding Gap to End FGM/C”, a parallel event at the 68th U.N. Commission on the Status of Women meetings, was hosted by The Global Platform for Action to End FGM/C in partnership with the United States Mission to the United Nations on March 15th. The Global Platform For Action to End FGM/C led the charge at the 2023 Women Deliver Conference to acknowledge the harms of insufficient funds in the work to end FGM/C. According to a Joint Letter by the Global Platform: “By investing $2.4 billion by 2030 we could end FGM/C altogether in 31 priority countries. There is also a need to expand funding beyond the 31 countries which have national prevalence data on the practice; and provide funding for anti-FGM work in countries which have not traditionally been prioritized, including in Asia and the Middle East. Yet only $275 million in development assistance is available leaving a funding gap of >$2.1 billion; and these funds are not available proportionately across all countries where FGM/C is known to take place.” This statement certainly manifests in the data of the UNICEF report. In collaboration with hundreds of activists, grassroots organizations, international NGOs and academics who gathered at the Women Deliver 2023 Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, the Global Platform has created the Kigali Declaration to call for an increase and shift of funding to grassroots organizations, and a convening of a Global Summit for increased commitments and investments. You can sign onto the Declaration here, and join the growing number calling to #closethefundinggap.
From Rhetoric to Reality: Closing the Funding Gap to End FGM/C
From political to personal, ending female genital mutilation (FGM/C) requires a multifaceted approach that includes funding. Sadly, a lack of adequate funding has created a real obstacle in our effects to enact change, which is why The Global Platform for Action to End FGM/C in partnership with the United States Mission to the United Nations is hosting “From Rhetoric to Reality: Closing the Funding Gap to End FGM/C”, a parallel event at the 68 U.N. Commission on the Status of Women meetings this March. Date: Friday, March 15, 2024 Time: 4:30-6:00 PM ET Where: Church Center United Nations, 10th Floor, , New York, NY 10017 Register: https://bit.ly/FundFGMC Cost: Free This event will explore innovative options and call for solutions to close the funding gap. Event objectives include: Highlight the funding gap with an emphasis on the global nature of FGM/C and the funding needs globally. Share new findings on the landscape of FGM/C funding, identify strategic entry points. Bring in new stakeholders to commit to funding anti-FGM/C programming, promote dialogue between CSOs, activists and funders and mobilise multi-stakeholder partnerships. Secure support for a Global Commitment Summit to attract funding to the sector. Related: Reflecting on Investing in Girls and Women: Unleashing the Power of Philanthropy to End FGM/C PS: While we’re on the subject, Sahiyo’s Silent Auction fundraising event kicks off on March 6-10 while the Live Virtual Comedy Show takes place on March 7. We aim to raise $15,000 in support of our work. Click here to donate auction items, money, or sponsor the event.
2023 Kigali Declaration launched at the Women Deliver Pre-Conference
Kigali, Rwanda — On July 16th, the Catalyzing Global Action to End FGM/C Women Deliver Pre-Conference (of which Sahiyo as a part of the Global Platform for Action to End FGM/C was a co-host) saw the launch of the Kigali Declaration which called on funders to close the funding gap needed to end FGM/C amongst future generations. This declaration serves as an exercise of collective power from hundreds of activists, grassroots organizations, international NGOs, and academics, to highlight the urgent resourcing need for the End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting sector. Specifically, this calls for accelerated investments and actions, with women-led organizations and the feminist movement at the center, for women and girls’ bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights. It also includes a call for a global summit dedicated to funding the end of this harmful practice. The Declaration emphasizes the need to shift funding to grassroots organizations, and aims to mobilize donors and stakeholders to invest in the movement and bridge the funding gap: where only $4 available to avert each case of FGM/C, when $95 is required. By galvanizing support and resources, we can make significant strides in our efforts to end FGM/C. Read the 2023 Kigali Declaration here. Cover photo: Nabeela Iqbal reads out the Kigali Declaration on July 18th at a Women Delivery Plenary event
Cohosting Catalyzing Global Action to End FGM/C – A Pre-Conference at Women Deliver 2023
The Women Deliver 2023 Conference (WD 2023) is taking place in-person, as well as virtually, from July 17-20th in Kigali, Rwanda. The conference is expected to convene 6,000 people in Kigali, and over 200,000 people online. On July 16th, Sahiyo, as a member of the Global Platform for Action to End FGM/C, co-hosted this year’s Pre-Conference on FGM/C – Catalyzing Global Action to End FGM/C. About the FGM/C Preconference: The FGM/C Pre-Conference, Catalyzing Global Action to End FGM/C, was a space of shared solidarity, bringing together activists and organizations working to end FGM/C across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and America. It promoted knowledge exchange, interregional collaboration, and global cooperation with the aim of catalyzing collective action and movement building, designing actionable commitments, and working toward substantive structural change. As part of the conference, one panel session during the day that included funders of the FGM/C field included, ‘From Rhetoric to Reality: Closing the Funding Gap and Uniting for Action to End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting’. This was a precursor to the launch of the Kigali Declaration that day. This declaration includes a call for a global summit dedicated to funding the end of this harmful practice. The Declaration emphasizes the need to shift funding to grassroots organizations and aims to mobilize donors and stakeholders to invest in the movement and bridge the funding gap- where only $4 available to avert each case of FGM/C, when $95 is required. By galvanizing support and resources, significant strides can be made to end FGM/C. Read more about Women Deliver and the Conference.
Reflecting on Investing in Girls and Women: Unleashing the Power of Philanthropy to End FGM/C
By Derrick Simiyu After attending the webinar Investing in Girls and Women: Unleashing the Power of Philanthropy to End FGM/C, I learned about challenges related to funding programs for those affected by FGC; in particular, the fact that little funding is allocated to FGC because it is not prioritized as an urgent problem. Speakers introduced the ‘funding gap’ of $2.1 billion between what is needed to end the practice globally ($2.4 billion) and what is currently being provided ($275 million). They also highlighted a campaign dedicated to the need for investing in ending FGC. Asenath Mwithigah, Chief Executive Officer at Orchid Project, elaborated on how to reduce the funding gap, pointing to the need for organizations to be held accountable; she believes accountability would ensure there is no misuse of the funds invested in FGC. Accountability would also help in avoiding the diversion of funds away from their original intention. For example, when the Covid-19 Pandemic arose, funds meant for FGC were diverted into fighting the crisis. Learning about these funding challenges made me realize that FGC is not addressed with the urgency that it demands. One challenge is that most donors want quick fixes when deciding what programs to invest in, and hence fail to invest in the long-term, multi-year solutions that are really needed to create behavior change to end FGC. Donors may also find it difficult to gauge impact in regard to whether FGC is being prevented for future generations and/or if a community is moving towards abandoning FGC because this harmful social norm is a taboo subject for communities to talk about openly. Most often, programs working on FGC provide evidence of their effectiveness in qualitative terms (e.g. stories) versus quantitative terms (e.g. numerical data), which I was surprised to learn most donors seek. Especially because Sahiyo uses storytelling as such an important tool, I think it doesn’t make sense that most donors would prioritize numbers rather than personal experiences. I thought anothering intriguing part of the webinar was learning about the challenges in addressing FGC through policy. Every time a new government comes into power in a country, political priorities in terms of governance and policy-making can change. For example, in Tanzania, the government’s stance on FGC has shifted over time. Although Julius Nyerere, the nation’s first president, spoke out against the practice in the 1960s, succeeding governments were less aggressive in their efforts to curtail it. Once the next government takes office, most of the policies that were in place before become difficult to uphold. Policies and actions designed to prevent FGC may then be ignored and may not be given utmost importance. What’s next? I couldn’t help but think of this question throughout the webinar as I listened to the speakers. The argument for donor cooperation was made distinctly: if donors pooled their resources to stop FGC, the Sustainable Development Goal #5 of ending FGC by 2030 would quickly be realized. With the pooled funds, community-based organizations like Sahiyo would have increased programming to help end FGC. My takeaway from the meeting was that in order to close the funding gap, we must channel more resources into ending FGC, but at the same time we must ensure accountability of the funds usage to avoid any wastage. After the meeting, I felt inspired to commit to closing the funding gap by contributing my resources (time, skill-sets, and finances) to ending FGC.
Calling for a Global Summit to end FGM/C
On March 7th, the Global Platform for Action to End FGM/C issued a joint letter calling for a Global Summit to end female genital cutting/mutilation (FGM/C). The Global Platform, a consortium of civil society organizations, champions, survivors, and grassroots representatives united to support the abandonment and prevention of FGM/C, also called attention to the funding gap (or lack of adequate funding) of over $2 billion. The letter suggests ‘convening a Global Summit aimed at sincere commitments and increased sustainable funding.’ Learn more about this advocacy call.