The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Sunday disclosed that Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) was prevalent in the South-East region of Nigeria, having the highest figure at 35 per cent.

“The prevalence of FGM is highest in the South-East at 35 per cent and South-West (30 per cent)”. The international organisation said this prompted a community-led movement to eliminate the menace in highly prevalent states of Imo, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo.

The officer in charge of UNICEF’s Enugu field office, Maureen Zubie-Okolo noted that over four million girls were at risk of genital mutilation even as COVID-19 disruptions could add another two million cases of FGM by the year 2030

Mrs Zubie-Okolo spoke at a media dialogue organised by UNICEF, in collaboration with the Broadcasting Corporation of Abia (BCA), to mark the year 2022 International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM.

February 6 was set aside by the UN to amplify and direct efforts on the elimination of FGM.

Speaking on this year’s theme: ‘Accelerating Investment to end Female Genital Mutilation’, Mrs Zubie-Okolo, represented by UNICEF’s child protection specialist, Enugu field office, Victor Atuchukwu, said that there were no proven health benefits of the practice.

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“Nigeria accounts for the third-highest number of women and girls who have undergone FGM worldwide, with an estimated 19.9million survivors and state prevalence ranging from 62 per cent in Imo to less than one per cent in Adamawa and Gombe,” she said.

“This day reminds us that we need to accelerate efforts, especially with families and communities, to achieve a safe Nigeria for girls and women who are robbed of their childhoods, health, and aspirations by harmful practices such as FGM,” she added.

Also, the director-general of BCA, Anyaso Anyaso, called for the collective investment of human and other resources in the fight against FGM, so as to enable the female folk to fully utilise their potential for socio-economic development of society.

(NAN)