Frontline activists and leaders in the fight against female genital mutilation, which has affected more than 230 million women and girls worldwide, have welcomed an unprecedented $15.5m (£11.4m) fund aimed at creating “unstoppable momentum” to finally end the practice.
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which → affect → practice
The launch of the fund comes as women’s rights are increasingly under attack and donor funding is in sharp decline, particularly for work led by FGM survivors in local communities.
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funding → come → communities
It is thought to be the largest single philanthropic contribution to ending the practice of FGM.
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It → think → FGM
The United Nations has set a goal of elimination by by 2030, but progress is not on track as funding declines and legal protections are challenged.
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protections → set → track
Funding received by the largest initiative to end the practice – a joint programme operated in 18 countries by the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, and the UN humanitarian organisation for children, Unicef – fell by 45% last year, from $29.6m to $16.3m.
The Her Horizon Fund has been seeded with $14m from the Wallace Global Fund, plus an additional $1.5m contribution from an anonymous donor, making $15.5m in total.
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Fund → receive → total
The aim of Her Horizon Fund, set up by the US-based Wallace Global Fund, is to pool $100m from donors to reach a “tipping point” towards ending FGM within a generation.
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aim → set → generation
Ifrah Ahmed, a Somali-Irish activist and survivor of FGM who set up the Ifrah Foundation to end practice in Somalia, where it is nearly universal, said: “By giving $14m, the global fund will ensure activists can continue their work in this area.”
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activists → set → area
UN funding worth $300,000 to her organisation was cut by UNFPA last year, but Ahmed managed to raise money from elsewhere.
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Ahmed → cut → money
The Ifrah Foundation has helped push for anti-FGM legislation in Somalia, she said.
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she → help → Somalia
Three of Somalia’s seven federal member states have enacted anti-FGM laws, while in two other states bills banning the practice have been endorsed by cabinet and are awaiting parliamentary approval, albeit with opposition by religious leaders in some areas.
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bills → enact → areas
“If we don’t continue to raise money, the dream where this practice will end will have died for young girls,” she added.
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she → continue → girls
Advocates warn that while international recognition of FGM as a human rights violation has grown, and countries such as Burkina Faso, the Gambia and Kenya have criminalised the practice, progress remains fragile.
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progress → warn → practice
In recent years, survivors and frontline groups have been trying to protect gains made over several decades.
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survivors → try → decades
The Gambia’s supreme court, for instance, is considering a constitutional challenge to the country’s 2015 ban on female genital mutilation and cutting.
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court → consider → mutilation
The case follows a 2024 parliamentary effort to repeal the ban, which lawmakers rejected after months of debate, amid strong resistance from women’s rights groups.
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lawmakers → follow → groups
In Sierra Leone, the new Child Rights Act does not prohibit FGM, despite sustained campaigning from rights groups.
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Act → prohibit → groups
Susan Gibbs, the Wallace Global Fund’s senior adviser on women’s rights and FGM, said: “Female genital mutilation is a global crisis, an extreme manifestation of gender-based violence and violence against children, and a public health emergency.
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mutilation → say → children
“There has been decades of progress, and UN data indicates declines in prevalence in a number of countries.
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data → indicate → countries
So it’s a mixed picture.
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it → ’ → ?
She added: “We’re at this critical inflection point.
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We → add → point
Most frontline organisations have been absolutely starved for resources, and so more direct funding would allow them to sustain and scale [up] their work.”
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them → starve → work
Gibbs, who attended a Justice for Girls global gathering in Kenya earlier this month, where the fund was officially launched, said the momentum at the meeting was “incredible”.
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momentum → attend → meeting
“Lasting change must be led by the frontline – it cannot be imposed from the outside.
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it → lead → outside
Frontline survivors, activists, they know their communities and they know what it will take.
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it → know → what
They must have the resources and power to lead.
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They → have → resources
“I’m convinced the impact [of the fund] will be catalytic,” she said.
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she → convince → fund
“There’s no doubt in my mind that with adequate funding, these frontline activists have what it takes to get this done.”
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this → ’ → what
It has been endured by more than 144 million women and girls in Africa, 80 million in Asia and 6 million in the Middle East.
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It → endure → East
The practice can cause immediate health complications such as severe pain, excessive bleeding and infection, as well as long-term consequences that include complications during childbirth, chronic pain and lasting psychological trauma.
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that → cause → childbirth
A 2025 study estimated that FGM causes approximately 44,000 deaths each year in the 15 countries examined, making it one of the leading causes of death for women and girls in those countries.
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it → estimate → countries
