As part of preventive measures to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation, the heads of six United Nations agencies issued a stark warning on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): an estimated 4.5 million girls are at risk of undergoing this harmful practice in 2026 alone. Currently, more than 230 million girls and women worldwide are living with its lifelong physical and psychological consequences
Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It has no health benefits and can cause severe bleeding, infections, infertility, complications in childbirth, and increased risk of newborn deaths.
In a joint statement, the leaders of UNFPA, UNICEF, the UN Human Rights Office, UN Women, the World Health Organization (WHO), and UNESCO reaffirmed their commitment to ending FGM. They emphasized that the practice is a severe human rights violation with no justification, leading to serious health complications and generating global treatment costs of approximately $1.4 billion annually.
The statement highlights that decades of intervention are yielding results. Support for ending FGM has grown significantly in prevalent countries, and the global prevalence has dropped from 1 in 2 girls to 1 in 3 since 1990, with half of this progress achieved in the last decade.
“We need to build on this momentum and speed up progress to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target of ending female genital mutilation by 2030,” the leaders stated.
The UN agencies outlined proven strategies for elimination, including community-led movements, education, engaging health workers and religious leaders, and amplifying prevention messages through media. Crucially, they highlighted that every dollar invested yields a tenfold return, with a $2.8 billion investment potentially preventing 20 million cases.
However, they issued a severe warning that this hard-won progress is now under threat. Declining international investment in health and social programmes, combined with a growing pushback that misleadingly promotes the “medicalization” of FGM, is creating new hurdles.
“Without adequate and predictable financing, community outreach programmes risk being scaled back, frontline services weakened, and progress reversed – placing millions more girls at risk at a critical moment,” the leaders cautioned.
The joint statement is a direct call for sustained political commitment and urgent financial investment from global and national partners. The agencies vowed to continue working with survivors, communities, and public and private sectors to end FGM once and for all.
Source: WHO
