New Fund Established to Combat Female Genital Mutilation Worldwide > 월드뉴스

Frontline activists and leaders in the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM), which has affected over 230 million women and girls globally, have welcomed a new $15.5 million fund aimed at creating "unstoppable momentum" to end the practice. The fund's launch coincides with increasing attacks on women's rights and a significant decline in donor funding, particularly for initiatives led by FGM survivors within local communities. This initiative is believed to be the largest single philanthropic contribution towards eradicating FGM.

The United Nations has set a target for elimination by 2030; however, progress is hindered by declining funding and challenges to legal protections. Funding for the largest initiative to combat FGM, a joint program run by the UN's sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, and UNICEF, dropped by 45% last year, from $29.6 million to $16.3 million.

The Her Horizon Fund was established by the US-based Wallace Global Fund, which has contributed $14 million, along with an additional $1.5 million from an anonymous donor, totaling $15.5 million. The goal of the Her Horizon Fund is to gather $100 million from donors to reach a critical point in the fight against FGM within a generation.

Ifrah Ahmed, a Somali-Irish activist and FGM survivor who founded the Ifrah Foundation, emphasized the importance of this funding for activists. Despite a $300,000 funding cut from UNFPA last year, Ahmed has continued her organization's work, which has led to the enactment of anti-FGM laws in three of Somalia's seven federal member states.

Advocates warn that, despite growing international recognition of FGM as a human rights violation and legal advancements in countries like Burkina Faso, Gambia, and Kenya, progress remains tenuous. Recent legal challenges, such as the Gambia's supreme court's consideration of a constitutional challenge to its 2015 ban on FGM, highlight the fragility of these gains.