Banjul, 03 October 2022 – The world’s largest annual gathering of partners on ending female genital mutilation (FGM) kicks off in Banjul today. The Annual Technical Consultation brings together over hundred participants from more than a dozen countries for a weeklong dialogue and consultations on ending FGM. This is the first conference hosted in The Gambia and it is the first time been convened since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Annual Technical Consultation is hosted by the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation, the largest global Programme on eliminating FGM since 2008. The meeting brings stakeholders from 17 countries across the Middle East and Africa and beyond to discuss strategies, share experiences and reaffirm the global promise to end FGM by 2030. It will also discuss a roadmap for ending FGM in the next eight years, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5, target 5.3.

“More than 200 million girls and women have experienced female genital mutilation, and at least 4 million girls are at risk of undergoing the practice each year,” said Ndeye Rose Sarr, UNFPA The Gambia Country Representative. “There is a great need to accelerate our efforts to end FGM and deliver the global promise by 2030 and to recommit to our promise to the young girl in hard-to-reach communities and ensure that no woman or girl is subjected to FGM.”

The Banjul meeting is being convened amidst an unprecedented global crisis driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, military conflicts, economic turmoil, and climate change that has upended lives of girls and women everywhere.  It also comes at a time when women and girls are asking world leaders to take urgent and concrete action to protect girls’ and women’s rights, including their right to health and dignity.

“The Annual Technical Consultation is an important opportunity to position the rights of girls and women at the heart of global conversations on the protection of fundamental human rights,” said Gordon Jonathan Lewis, UNICEF The Gambia Representative. “Girls and women everywhere have so much hope and confidence in our shared promise: to work together and do more to protect every girl and woman from FGM and build a world where the rights and dignity of girls are protected.”

The Annual Technical Consultation is expected to draw conclusions and recommendations based on the implementation of the Joint Programme on the Elimination of FGM and come up with innovative strategies to deliver the global promise to end FGM by 2030. The meeting will also enable countries to network and share country experiences and innovations and strengthen partnerships and inspire more people to stand up against harmful practices.

About the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of FGM

UNFPA and UNICEF lead the Joint Programme on the Accelerated Abandonment of FGM, the largest global programme to end this harmful practice, currently focusing on 17 countries, including The Gambia, and also supports regional and global initiatives.

Launched in 2008 and now in its third phase of implementation, the Joint Programme has helped more than 3.2 million girls and women receive prevention, protection and care services related to FGM, while some 31.6 million people in more than 21,700 communities in 15 countries with high FGM prevalence have made public declarations to abandon the harmful practice.

About UNFPA

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. UNFPA's mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA calls for the realisation of reproductive rights for all and supports access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services. 

 For more information about UNFPA and its work in The Gambia, visit  www.gambia.unfpa.org.

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About UNICEF

UNICEF promotes the rights and well-being of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org/gambia.

Follow UNICEF The Gambia on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Media contacts:

Faith Ememodo, Communication Associate, UNFPA The Gambia – ememodo @unfpa.org 

Abdoulie Sey, Communication Officer, UNICEF Gambia – asey@unicef.org