Chioma Umeha
Not a few keen observers of the health sector are
worried that Nigeria is home to millions of those who survived female genital
mutilation (FGM). More worrisome is the high level of ignorance concerning the
practice of FGM.
Nigeria is among four countries where two thirds
of all women who have undergone FGM/C live; the other three countries are
Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan.
Most recent estimates from UNFPA-UNICEF Joint
Programme On FGM/C Abandonment: Accelerating Change Phase II report from 2014
to 2017 show that Nigeria has zero
to 28 per cent prevalence along
with Yemen.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that
Female genital mutilation include all procedures which involve partial or total
removal of the external female
genitalia or injury to the female genital organs, whether for cultural or any
other non-therapeutic reasons.
The world health body further classifies FGM into
four major types, namely; Type I (Clitoridectomy), Type II (Excision), Type
III (Infibulation) and Type IV.
The United Nations (UN) health body in its 2018
reported that young girls between zero and 15 years even women are subjected to
female genital mutilation in worldwide.
Of the 200 million girls and women globally living
with the consequences of FGM, 44 million are aged less than 15 years, the
report further said.
According to the report, three million girls are
at risk of the practice every year.
In 2016, UNICEF estimated that at least 200
million women and girls in 30 countries have been subjected to FGM.
While earlier focus in Nigeria has generally been
on three major types of FGM/C practiced -Type I, Type II, and Type III – recent evidence show s that
different forms of Type IV are as prevalent as the other
types, especially in the northern regions, where little attention has been paid over
the years.
The procedures for FGM can take place anytime from
a few days after a child’s birth to a few days after a woman’s death.
Although FGM/C is known to be widespread in
Nigeria and is an important issue in international discourse, nationally
representative data on its prevalence in Nigeria is comparatively rare.
Speaking during two-day review meeting with media
– radio – partners on ending FGM
in Nigeria which was organised by National Orientation Agency (NOA), Oyo State
with support from UNICEF, Benjamin Mbakwem, FGM/C Consultant for Ebonyi &
Imo State, UNICEF Enugu Field Office, said it is an out-dated practice and tradition
that threatening the rights of girls and women to development, protection and
ultimately survival.
This is an unbridled contravention of the
international Child Rights Act adopted by Nigeria in 2003 to domesticate the
convention on the Rights of the child. Despite the fact that some states have
passed it into law, it is still a daunting task fighting FGM/C in the
Southwest, Mbakwem said.
According to WHO, the practice of FGM enables the
victims to be automatically open to various risks which may be immediate, long
term, psychological, sexual functioning, or obstetric. The immediate risks the victims are
exposed to include: excessive bleeding, pain, shock, genital tissue swelling,
infections, wound healing problems, as well as death. The victims are still
exposed to long term risks which may include: genital tissue damage, vaginal
discharge and itching, menstrual problems, chronic genital infections,
reproductive tract infections, urinary tract infections, keloids and cyst.
These victims are not exempted from the risks in
childbirth which may include: prolonged labour, post-partum haemorrhage, still
birth and early neonatal death, caesarean section, extended maternal stay,
episiotomy, etc.
Apart from the physical risks the victims are
exposed to, they can also be affected psychologically. They can be depressed,
have anxiety disorder, or post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
UNJP On FGM Elimination: Alignment with SDGs,
UNFPA and UNICEF’s Strategic Plan Outcome Areas.
UNFPA/UNICEF
global target and call to eliminate FGM/C by 2030, an
understanding of prevalence, trends, and
legal frameworks in Nigeria is a critical first step in designing policy and programme interventions.
SDG Goal 5, Target 5.3: “Eliminate all harmful
practices, such as child, early and forced marriage, and female genital
mutilation.”
UNFPA Strategic Plan 2018-2021 Outcome 3: “Gender
equality, the empowerment of all women and girls, and reproductive rights are
advanced in development and humanitarian settings” and Output 12: “Strengthened
response to eliminate harmful practices, including child, early and forced
marriage, female genital mutilation and son preference.”
UNICEF Strategic Plan 2018-2021 Goal 3: “Every
child is protected from violence, exploitation and harmful practices” and
Result 2 “By 2021, girls are reached with UNICEF-supported multisectoral
at-scale programmes to address harmful practices, namely [female genital
mutilation] and child marriage.”
The Joint Programme will focus its interventions
in Phase III on the 16 countries listed above (Slide 5), as a way to maximise
resources and bring the international community closer to achieving SDG Target
5.3.
In Nigeria the intervention will also continue in
the five States (Ekiti, Ebonyi, Imo, Oyo and Osun), while further studies will
e conducted to ascertain the emergency of new FGM Hotspot States in Nigeria.
UNFPA/UNICEF will discuss government on the best
way to conduct the intervention at the community level to avoid duplication.
