New $15.5M fund launched to combat female genital mutilation
What's the story
A new $15.5 million fund has been launched to combat female genital mutilation (FGM) globally. The Her Horizon Fund, established by the Wallace Global Fund, aims to raise $100 million in total to eradicate FGM within a generation. The initiative is being welcomed by activists and leaders who work on the front line against this practice that affects over 230 million women and girls worldwide, The Guardian reported.
Funding goals
Donor funding for FGM-related work declining
The launch of the Her Horizon Fund comes at a time when donor funding for FGM-related work is sharply declining.
The largest initiative to end FGM, a joint program by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNICEF, saw its funding drop by 45% last year.
The new fund hopes to reverse this trend and create "unstoppable momentum" toward ending FGM globally.
Funding impact
Activist highlights need for continued fundraising
Ifrah Ahmed, a Somali-Irish activist and FGM survivor, stressed the need for continued fundraising to end FGM.
"If we don't continue to raise money, the dream where this practice will end will have died for young girls," she said.
Her organization, the Ifrah Foundation, has been instrumental in advocating anti-FGM legislation in Somalia.
Despite UNFPA cutting $300,000 from her organization's funding last year, Ahmed was able to secure alternative funds.
Human rights
Some countries criminalize FGM, but progress remains fragile
FGM has been increasingly recognized as a human rights violation, with countries like Burkina Faso and Kenya criminalizing the practice.
However, progress remains fragile. In The Gambia, the Supreme Court is reviewing a constitutional challenge to the country's 2015 FGM ban.
Similarly, Sierra Leone's new Child Rights Act fails to prohibit FGM despite campaigning from rights groups.
Health crisis
Lasting change must be led by frontline survivors and activists
Susan Gibbs from the Wallace Global Fund called FGM a "public health emergency" and an extreme form of gender-based violence.
She said frontline organizations are often starved for resources, and more direct funding would help them scale their work.
The fund was officially launched at a Justice for Girls global gathering in Kenya earlier this month.
Gibbs emphasized that lasting change must be led by frontline survivors and activists who understand their communities best.
Health impact
FGM leads to immediate and long-term health complications
FGM involves the partial or total removal of female genitalia for non-medical reasons.
It affects over 144 million women and girls in Africa, 80 million in Asia, and six million in the Middle East.
The practice leads to immediate health complications such as severe pain, excessive bleeding, infection, and long-term consequences like childbirth complications and psychological trauma.
A 2025 study estimated FGM causes around 44,000 deaths annually in 15 countries examined.