The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned that at least 4.5 million girls worldwide are at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM) in 2026, underscoring the persistence of a practice that continues to endanger the lives and rights of women and girls.
The agency estimates that about 230 million girls and women across the globe are already living with the consequences of female genital mutilation, a harmful practice that involves altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is internationally recognised as a violation of human rights.
UNFPA noted that FGM sometimes takes place under the supervision of healthcare providers, a practice commonly referred to as “medicalised” FGM. However, the organisation stressed that the involvement of medical professionals does not make the act acceptable or safe. According to UNFPA, even when performed with sterilised equipment and professional oversight, there is no medical justification for the procedure.
The agency described FGM as a global problem, reporting that it is practised in at least 94 countries across all continents. Despite decades of advocacy and intervention, UNFPA lamented that millions of girls and women continue to endure severe, long-lasting and sometimes life-threatening physical and psychological effects linked to genital mutilation.
One major factor sustaining the practice, UNFPA explained, is the mistaken belief that campaigns to end FGM are driven by foreign or external influences rather than local realities. Ahead of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, observed annually on February 6, the UN agency dismissed this notion, declaring: “we’re busting this myth”.
Encouragingly, UNFPA revealed that progress is being recorded in some regions. Data from roughly one-third of countries where FGM is practised show a decline over the past 30 years, with the prevalence dropping from one in two girls to one in three girls undergoing the procedure.
The agency added that public opinion is increasingly shifting against the practice, noting that two-thirds of men and women globally now want female genital mutilation to end.
Calling for intensified action, UNFPA stated: “To protect these girls, we all must invest to meet the target of ending the harmful practice by 2030, by forming wider partnerships and implementing cost-effective interventions that challenge the social norms that perpetuate it.
“Governments, donors, the private sector, communities, grassroots organisations, girls, women, boys and men all have a role to play as agents of change to ensure that girls grow up free from female genital mutilation.”
The organisation also highlighted the role of education, noting that thousands of children are now learning about the dangers of genital mutilation in schools, as comprehensive sexuality education becomes more widely adopted.
According to UNFPA, Africa continues to carry the heaviest burden of female genital mutilation. In Ethiopia, for example, about three-quarters of women and girls aged between 15 and 49 have undergone some form of FGM.
Nonetheless, the agency pointed to signs of progress in countries where the practice is deeply rooted, as legal reforms and religious engagement begin to make an impact. In Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia, Islamic scholars issued a national fatwa in 2025 affirming that there are no religious grounds to justify female genital mutilation.
UNFPA stressed that sustained commitment, local leadership and collective action remain critical if the global target of ending FGM by 2030 is to be achieved.
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