Former President Uhuru Kenyatta made history during the Nairobi Summit on International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 2019, when he committed to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) by 2022.
Although a lot of progress has been made since the monumental pronouncement three years ago, data released on the progress of his promise by the National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) yesterday, tells a different story.
The scorecard is out and FGM is far from being eradicated, especially in high burden counties where the practice remains persistent.
According to the population council, there were 491 reported FGM cases between June 2020 and May 2022.
While speaking during the launch of the report in Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Dr Mohammed Seikh, Director General of NCPD attributed the derailment to a number of external factors that affected the fight against the cut.
Cross-border FGM
“Unfortunately, the recent Covid-19 pandemic and inadequate resources slowed the momentum. The combination of the emerging trends such as cross-border FGM, medicalisation of FGM and its re-emergence in areas where it had been eliminated, affected the country’s resolve to end FGM,’’ Dr Sheik said
The report further highlights lack of spaces for girls at-risk of FGM and limited prosecution of FGM perpetrators as some of the challenges that prevent eradication of FGM.
Indeed, the score card indicated that there have only been 179 perpetrators of FGM arrested in a period of almost two years, from June 2020 to May 2022.
Nonetheless, the picture is not completely grim as the scorecard also revealed major wins. In the period under review, 887 girls were rescued from FGM and 33,832 girls underwent alternative rites of passage.
In order to increase the progress against eliminating the cut, the Anti-FGM Board has started an acceleration plan, which is paying particular focus on high burden counties such as Garissa, Narok, Tana River and Migori and three border points (Kenya-Tanzania, Kenya-Ethiopia and Kenya-Uganda). BY DAILY NATION