The United Nations has expressed worries that additional two million girls could be affected by Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) by 2030 as COVID-19 threatens to reverse decades of global progress in stamping out the menace.

This, according to the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, is equivalent to a 33 per cent reduction in global efforts toward eradication.

On how the pandemic poses threats to FGM eradication, the agency highlighted shuttered schools, lockdowns, and disruption to services that protect girls.

These factors, it said, have put millions worldwide at increased risk of being subjected to FGM.

“We are losing ground in the fight to end female genital mutilation, with dire consequences for millions of girls where the practice is most prevalent,” Nankali Maksud, UNICEF Senior Advisor, Prevention of Harmful Practices said.

“When girls are not able to access vital services, schools, and community networks, their risk of female genital mutilation significantly increases – threatening their health, education, and future.”

The agency’s disclosure comes ahead of the international day to eliminate the harmful practice.

International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM is a UN-sponsored annual awareness day that takes place on February 6 as part of the UN’s efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation.

In his message for the International Day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres underscored that “this flagrant manifestation of gender inequality must be stopped”.

He urged people everywhere to join UN efforts to end FGM and uphold the human rights of all women and girls.

(NAN)