Effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent or respond to female genital mutilation: A review of evidence

Girls are one-third less likely to be subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) today than 30 years ago. However, rapid population growth in some of the world’s poorest countries, where FGM persists, threatens to roll back progress. In 2020 alone, an estimated 4.1 million girls were at risk of being subjected to FGM. Without concerted and accelerated actions to end the practice, an estimated 68 million additional girls will have been subjected to FGM by 2030. Despite intensified global research efforts to inform strategies to address FGM, there has been little synergy between evidence generation and the implementation of programs and policies designed to end the practice. As the final decade of acceleration toward zero new cases of FGM by 2030 begins, increasing the rigor of research for programming, policy development, and resource allocation is critical. This report synthesized and assessed the quality and strength of existing evidence on FGM interventions reported between 2008 and 2020. Study findings will contribute to strengthening the synergy between evidence generation and FGM programs and inform a global research agenda for FGM.