The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said that among the five states of the southeast, Imo has the highest prevalence rate of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
UNICEF’s Chief of Enugu Field Office, Mrs Juliet Chiluwe, said this at a media dialogue organised by the Fund, in Enugu , on Wednesday, as part of activities marking the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM.
Chiluwe spoke on the year’s theme: “ Stepping Up The Pace: Strengthening Alliances and Building Movements to End FGM”.
She said that the practice of FGM has continued despite policies and laws that protect the rights and privileges of children, women and girls in the southeast region.
She mentioned some of the policies and laws to include child rights laws, the Violence Against Persons Prohibition law, public declaration of abandonment of FGM practices across communities, improved services for FGM survivors and increased awareness across communities.
She called on stakeholders to amplify voices by strengthening alliances among grassroots activists, governments, organisations, and the private sector to end the harmful practice.
“ According to the Nigeria Multiple Cluster Survey (MICS 2021), we still have unacceptable prevalence rates across the southeast states, with Imo ranking first at 38 per cent prevalence among women age 15 to 49 and 9.7 per cent among girls age zero to 14 years.
“ We must amplify voices to increase investment to ensure no girl is at risk of FGM; strengthen social movements to eliminate FGM; advocate for accountability; get the voices and stories of survivors and collectively engage stakeholders “, she said.
A public health physician, Dr Chikezie Obasi, said that the management of complications of FGM, a practice recognised internationally as a violation of human rights, gulps $1.4 billion annually, according to a report by the UNICEF.
He called for holistic measures to prevent FGM and implement existing anti FGM laws.
Also, UNICEF’s Communication Officer for the Enugu field office, Mrs Ijeoma Onuoha-Ogwe, urged journalists in the southeast and Imo especially, to help disseminate accurate and harmonised messages about FGM and cutting.
This, she said, would further reinforce journalist’s’ commitment to end FGM and reawaken the consciousness of all stakeholders.
Our Correspondent reports that over the years, several interventions have been undertaken by UNICEF to stem the practice.
Efforts are still underway, with the strongest assurances that given the cooperation of all stakeholders, perpetrators of the ugly practice will be brought to justice.