Annual Report

Accelerating Action: Strengthening alliances and addressing pushback against ending female genital mutilation

Number of pages: 90

Publication date: 30 Jun 2025

Publisher: UNFPA, UNICEF

Resources

At a Glance – Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation

Resource date: 2025

Publisher: UNFPA

Why invest in the Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation?

Ending female genital mutilation by 2030 is within reach, but only with urgent and sustained investment. Achieving this goal requires an estimated $2.1 billion, yet the cost of protecting one girl is just $95 — a small investment with a lifelong impact. This support can help scale up proven interventions, strengthen community-led movements, and drive policy change that protects millions of girls.

Updates

Norway strengthens commitment with UNFPA to end female genital mutilation

19 Nov 2024

Supported by funding from UNFPA donors, Hawa Kamil works with the Elle&Elles Network, a local grassroots organization and leading advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights, including female genital mutilation. © UNFPA / Fahmia Al-Fotih

News

Somali survivors of female genital mutilation advocate to change minds – and lives

UNFPA and UNICEF’s Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation works with grassroots activists to encourage communities to abandon the practice. © UNFPA Somalia

26 February 2024

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What is the Joint Programme on the Elimination of FGM?

UNFPA, in partnership with UNICEF, leads the largest global programme to accelerate the elimination of female genital mutilation (FGM) in 18 countries in Africa and Asia: Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Somalia, Uganda and Yemen.

The Joint Programme’s interventions are designed and implemented in close collaboration with governments, national and grassroots community organizations, and other key stakeholders. They are evidence-based and draw on technical support from UNFPA and UNICEF.

The Joint Programme, launched in 2008 and now in its fourth phase (2022–2030), focuses on fostering accelerated, collaborative action across all levels (grassroots, communities, subnational, national, regional and global) and all relevant sectors (social, education, health, religious, economic, political). This collaborative and multifaceted approach aims to shift underlying social norms within affected communities through movement building and strengthening of systems in partnership with governments, non governmental organizations and the private sector.

Why Get Involved?

FGM is a violation of human rights and is never safe, with immediate health risks that can span a lifetime, including chronic pain, infections, increased risk of childbirth complications and psychological trauma.

Ending this harmful practice is an achievable Sustainable Development Goal to safeguard and protect the 68 million girls and women at risk. Your involvement can take many forms, from advocacy and policy making to providing financial support or implementing interventions on the ground. By participating in this global movement, you can contribute to ending FGM and creating a world where every girl and woman lives free from violence and discrimination.

Top 10 achievements so far

1,137,740 girls aged 0 to 14 years were protected from undergoing FGM
2 million women and girls have initiated conversations on FGM elimination
50 million people made public declarations to abandon FGM
19,809 communities established surveillance systems to protect girls from undergoing FGM
250 million individuals were reached by mass media messaging on FGM
20,000 grassroots organizations have been integrated into coalitions and networks working on the elimination of FGM
112,000 community and frontline workers from 241 implementing partners were engaged in interventions that aim to end FGM
Close to 7 million girls and women received FGM related prevention and protection services
14,827 health service delivery points have at least one health worker trained to provide FGM-related services
1,953 arrests were made as part of enforcing FGM legislation

Where we work

Explore snapshots of the 18 focus countries. Each snapshot offers a brief synopsis of the context, including drivers, prevalence, attitudes and progress in eliminating FGM, and a list of key programme partners. The snapshots also highlight key programmatic achievements and an activity showcasing how Phase IV of the programme operates at the field level.

The designations employed and the presentation of material on the map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNFPA concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Due to coding limitations, the wording across the indicators is standard, both in the global page and the individual country pages. The wording is applied homogeneously to all reporting offices and is by no means an endorsement or statement of recognition of sovereignty. A dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan. The final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not yet been agreed upon by the parties.

A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).

The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.