4.5 Million Girls at Risk of FGM This Year, UN Warns

The United Nations reported on Friday that an estimated 4.5 million girls worldwide are at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM) this year.

Many of the girls at risk are under the age of five, according to a joint statement from UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), issued on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM.

Definition of FGM

FGM involves the total or partial removal of external female genitalia. It is practiced in some parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, often based on religious or traditional grounds.

The procedure is typically carried out on young girls before they reach puberty, sometimes on children under the age of five, based on unverified claims related to virginity. This practice can lead to severe, lifelong consequences.

Global Impact

Approximately 230 million women and girls globally are survivors of FGM, according to the UN.

UN agency heads stated that FGM is a violation of human rights and is not justifiable. They indicated it compromises girls' and women's physical and mental health and can lead to serious, lifelong complications.

FGM is a violation of human rights and is not justifiable; it compromises girls' and women's physical and mental health and can lead to serious, lifelong complications.

Progress and Challenges

Leaders from the WHO, UNICEF, and several other UN agencies condemned the practice and reaffirmed their commitment to ending FGM for all at-risk girls and women.

Efforts to increase awareness, education, and community engagement in recent decades have shown a positive impact. Half of all gains against FGM since 1990 were achieved in the past decade, reducing the number of girls subjected to FGM from one in two to one in three.

The agencies called for continued support for survivors, including access to comprehensive healthcare, psychosocial support, and legal assistance.

However, the UN agencies warned that severe cuts to international aid funding and growing systematic pushback on efforts to end FGM are hindering progress. Without adequate and predictable financing, community outreach programs and frontline services risk being scaled back, potentially reversing progress and placing millions more girls at risk. This impacts the push to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of ending female genital mutilation by 2030.