To safeguard progress and accelerate the decline of FGM, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) last year launched Phase III (2018-2021) of the Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation: Accelerating Change.

The Joint Programme is the world’s largest and most comprehensive effort seeking to eliminate FGM, and plays an important role in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5, Target 5.3, on the elimination of harmful practices, including FGM.