By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Paga (U/E), Dec 2, GNA – Stakeholders have met to discuss and brainstorm strategies and interventions to prevent the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the Upper East Region.
The discussion was among other things to dialogue on how relevant stakeholders and institutions could work in unison to curb the cross-border activities of the practice and enhance the well being of girls and young women.
The stakeholders met in Paga in the Kassena-Nankana West District as part of activities to mark this year’s 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence (GBV) and the elimination of all forms of abuses against women and girls.
It was organised on the theme “unifying voices against FGM: a stakeholder dialogue,” by the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council and the Department of Gender with funding support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The dialogue brought together state and non-state actors, traditional and religious leaders, opinion leaders, men and boys’ groups, women and girls’ networks aimed to discuss their roles in preventing and responding to FGM in the Kassena-Nankana West District.
Mr James Twene, Acting Upper Regional Director of the Department of Gender, speaking at the event. noted FGM was not only a human right abuse but also a gender-based violence and gender discrimination against women and girls and the practice needed to be curbed.
According to the 2023 Baseline survey report on FGM Prevalence in Northern Ghana launched by UNFPA Ghana, nine out of 1,000 females had undergone FGM in the Pusiga District while 20 out of 1,000 females had undergone the practice in the Sawla-Kalba-Tuna District in the Savannah Region.
Similarly, the report regretted that 30 out of 1,000 females had suffered FGM practice in the Kassena-Nankana West District, and in Wa East District in the Upper West Region, about 10 out of 1,000 females had undergone the practice.
The report also revealed that cross border activities were found to be major drivers of the practice in the border districts, particularly those sharing borders with Burkina Faso where the practice was still prevalent.
This, Mr Twene indicated, was worrisome and posed obstacles to the achievement of gender parity and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and called for concerted efforts to eliminate the canker.
“To stop the spread of this harmful practice from the borders of Burkina Faso to all parts of the regions in Ghana, there is a need to intensify sensitization and engagements with community members on the health implications of FGM in tandem with engagement of young people, parents or guardians, and traditional leaders,” he added.
Madam Belinda Akwata, Public Health Nurse, Ghana Health Service, Kassena-Nankana West District, said FGM posed serious health implications on victims and there was the need for stakeholders to intensify education at the community levels.
Madam Rebecca Kape Alugivala, Queen mother of Nakolo, noted that women and girls had suffered the practiced which continued to persist and pledged to lead advocacy that would influence the abolishment of the practice in her area.
Pastor Christopher Afire, Member of the Christian Council, called for decentralised education that involved activities to create awareness and empower communities on the dangers of the practice.
FGM is a practice that involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.
According to the UNFPA, it is estimated that 230 million girls and women globally had undergone FGM while 68 million girls are at risk of suffering the practice between 2015 and 2030, if the current levels of practice continue.
GNA