Research, Health Care and Preventive Measures for FGM/C and the Strengthening of Leadership and Research in Africa

The conference documented in this report gave those working across a range of fields towards ending female genital mutilation/cutting a chance to share their experiences. Many participants indicated that it crucial for those in African countries to work more closely with those from other regions and countries to share and learn from one another’s efforts. Participants also explored the possibility of establishing an African Coordinating Centre for the Elimination of FGM/C, as proposed by the University of Nairobi.

Participants identified gaps in research, policies, current interventions, monitoring and evaluation and encouraged the establishment of the proposed coordinating centre as a strategic and much needed action to address those gaps and support collaboration across the field. In particular, they viewed theproposed centre as a positive step in addressing the language barrier among campaigners in anglophone,francophone and Arabic-speaking nations.