06/02/2026
Ending Female Ge***al Mutilation by 2030
Female ge***al mutilation is a human rights violation that infringes on the fundamental rights of girls and women. The injury of female ge***alia for non-medical reasons can have short-term to lifelong health impacts on physical, sexual, and mental health, spanning from childhood, reproductive years, and into old age.
Today, over 230 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to FGM and require access to appropriate care services. The stakes are high: an estimated 22.7 million additional girls are at risk of undergoing FGM by 2030 unless action is accelerated. Every year, approximately 4 million girls are subjected to this practice, with over 2 million occurring before the age of five.
While progress has been made, half of the progress over the last 30 years was achieved in just the last decade, it is not enough. The rate of decline must be 27 times faster to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target by 2030.
Ending FGM requires sustained investment. For every $1 invested to end FGM, there is a return of $10. Conversely, inaction is costly; treating the health complications of FGM costs health systems an estimated USD 1.4 billion per year.
Female ge***al mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female ge***alia, or other injury to the female ge***al organs for non-medical reasons, and is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.
