The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Enugu Field Office, has called on governments of the South East, donors and private sectors to step up financial investment for effective intervention to achieve zero tolerance in female genital mutilation.
Juliet Chiluwe, chief of UNICEF Enugu field office, who stated this in her remarks at the zonal media dialogue with journalists, media executives and CSOs in Enugu recently in commemoration of the 2025 International Day of zero tolerance for female genital mutilation, said the position of FGM/C in South East remained unacceptable.
She expressed serious concern over the prevalence rate of Female Genital Mutilation and FGM/C) across the South East states despite all the efforts to educate the people on the danger associated with FGM/C.
The Zonal Media Dialogue with the theme, ‘stepping up the pace: strengthening alliance and building movement to end FGM,’ was organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Enugu Field Office in Collaboration with Broadcasting Corporation of Abia State.
Chiluwe, who gave the statistics from (MICS 2021), said: “We still have unacceptable prevalence rates across the South East states, with Imo State ranking 1st at 38% prevalence among women age 15-49 years and 9.7% prevalence among girls age 0-14 years; similarly, prevalence among women age 15-49 years in Ebonyi, Abia, Enugu, and Anambra states stand at 20.4%,20.3%,19%,and13.1% respectively. For girls aged 0-14years, prevalence stands at 3.7%,3.0%,2.1% and 0.2% respectively for Enugu, Abia, Anambra and Ebonyi states.”
Chiluwe said that while UNICEF appreciates the drop in prevalence (especially among women age 15-49) when compared to previous years’ MICS and NDHS data, that this is the most critical time to step up the pace, especially through strengthening alliances among grassroots activities, communities, governments, organisations, and the private sector to build a powerful social movement that ends the harmful norms.
She also said that Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognised internationally as a violation of the human rights, the health and the integrity of girls and women.
“It violates fundamental human rights such as the right to health, life, physical and mental integrity and freedom from torture, and can result in complications from detrimental physical and psychological as well as social and economic impacts lasting throughout childhood, reproductive years, and old age,” she said.
UNICEF head Enugu Field office described FGM/C as a form of gender-based violence and harmful practice against women and girls, and a public health challenge.
The practice of FGM, Chiluwe said, was rooted in gender inequality and power imbalances between men and women limiting opportunities for girls and women to realise their rights and full potential in terms of health, saying that it is often undertaken as a traditional rite of passage aimed at limiting sexual enjoyment and ‘protecting’ female chastity.
“Since 2015, notably in Imo and Ebonyi States, the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of FGM, in collaboration with the states’ ministries of Women Affairs, Health, Justice, Child Protection Network, National Orientation Agency and Civil Society Organisations, have worked tirelessly with other state and non-state actors, including the Police, traditional, religious and community leaders, FGM survivors, adolescents, male and, women groups etc., in mobilising individuals and groups, seeking behaviour change, facilitating the movement towards ending the practice of female genital mutilation at the family, household and community levels.”
UNICEF as an organisation, she said, had advocated and secured great policies and laws that protect the rights and privileges of children, women and girls in the South East region some of which she said are the Child Rights Laws, Violence Against Persons Prohibition Laws, etc.
“We have had public declaration of abandonment of FGM practices across communities and LGAs, improved services for FGM survivors and increased awareness across communities,” said.
Chikezie Obasi, the resource person who also is a Public Health Consultant, said that the prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting FGM/C among girls between the ages of 0-14 years increased from 16.9% to 19.2% between 2013 and 2018 across the country.
He maintained that the prevalence rate among women between the ages of 15-49 years dropped from 25% to 20% between 2013 and 2018 and attributed the drop to the awareness of those within the age bracket.
Obasi enumerated a number of challenges FGM/C could cause a woman and advised that every woman should be left alone the way she was created by God and called for full implementation of Violence Against Persons Law as a practical step to ensure the arrest and prosecution of offenders.
Earlier, Ijeoma Onuoha-Ogwe, communication officer UNICEF Enugu Field office, said that the meeting was to reinforce media role to information-sharing and fan existing relationship with media on campaign against FGM/C, and also further engage the media to help disseminate accurate and harmonise messages about FGM/C practice.
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