Federal government commits to ending FGM by 2030
The federal government has pledged to eradicate the practice of Female Genital Mutilation by the year 2030 in line with Sustainable Development Goals.
Minister of Women Affairs Pauline Tallen, announced the Federal Government’s commitment in a remark at a walk organized by Women Against Violence and Exploitation (WAVE).
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) according to the UNICEF refers to “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”
The walk in Abuja was held in collaboration with the Women Against Violence and Exploitation (WAVE) Foundation, to end FGM in Abuja.
Mrs Tallen, while commending WAVE Foundation, stressed government’s commitment to working with stakeholders, traditional and religious leaders to bring an end to the challenges affecting women and girls.
President WAVE Foundation and initiator of “Stop the Cut” project, Lola Ibrahim, called for social service support to survivors of FGM, as well as usage of appropriate words to sensitise the public on the ills of the practice.
Architect Ibrahim who called for an end to the practice stressed the need to provide equal rights and opportunities for all sexes.
She appealed to government at all levels to translate the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act into local languages so that people in the grassroots would understand the laws against FGM.
HOW DOES FGM AFFECT NIGERIA
United Nations Children’s Fund estimates that 200 million girls and women globally have undergone some form of FGM.
According to data from UNICEF, three million girls undergo some form of the procedure every year in Africa alone. An additional 2 million girls could undergo FGM by 2030 as a result of COVID-19, on top of the 68 million cases which had previously been anticipated. Girls and women who have undergone FGM live predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab States, but FGM is also practiced in select countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. It is also practiced among migrant populations throughout Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.
According to the UN in 2021 alone, there are 4.16 million girls around the world, who are at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation.
A pre Covid study by UNFPA puts the cost of preventing female genital mutilation at $95 per girl.
A cost Nigeria can ill afford. 
Dr Dolamu Jawando, CEO, Firmcare Diagnostic and Medical, who spoke in a press conference ahead of the Walk noted that the immediate and long-term effects of FGM, include uncontrollable bleeding, infertility, recurrent infection and psychological trauma.
Which means more investment in the health to address the challenge, this adding to the already heavy health burden the federal government is currently faced with.
Director Men Against Rape Lemmy Ughegbe described the walk organized by Wave Foundations as an important first step saying it will help in raising awareness about the issue.