Population Reference Bureau (PRB) is a core partner on the Population Council-led consortium Evidence to End FGM/C: Research to Help Girls and Women Thrive
a UKAID-funded research program to help end female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) within one generation. Our role is to build the consortium
s capacity for research utilization and to develop innovative tools and products to improve how researchers communicate their findings about FGM/C to key decisionmakers.
PRB has developed a web feature,
Understanding the Impact of Medicalisation on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting,
that outlines the best available information on medicalization. Medicalization refers to the practice of FGM/C by any category of health care provider. The web feature synthesizes quantitative data on trends over time, the relationship between medicalization and overall FGM/C prevalence, and qualitative data on provider and community perspectives. It will provide policymakers, advocates, and program managers with a better understanding of medicalization, how it varies by context, and key recommendations on how to address the practice.
Explore the web feature to:
- Understand the rates and trends of medicalization today.
- Explore FGM/C and the practice of medicalization in Kenya, Egypt, Sudan, and Nigeria through country profiles.
- Identify key steps that can be taken to end medicalization as well as FGM/C more broadly.
This web feature is based on the following five research reports:
- Bettina Shell-Duncan, Carolyne Njue, and Zhuzhi Moore,
The Medicalization of Female Genital Mutilation /Cutting: What Do the Data Reveal?
Evidence to End FGM/C: Research to Help Women Thrive (New York: Population Council, February 2017). - Otibho Obianwu, Adetayo Adetunji, and Osasuyi Dirisu,
Understanding Medicalisation of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Qualitative Study of Parents and Health Workers in Nigeria,
Evidence to End FGM/C: Research to Help Women Thrive (New York: Population Council, January 2018). - Nafisa Bedri et al.,
Medicalisation of FGM/C in Sudan: Health Care Provider and Families
Perspectives,
Evidence to End FGM/C: Research to Help Women Thrive (New York: Population Council, forthcoming). - Omaima El-Gibaly and Mirette Aziz,
Medicalisation of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Egypt: Perspectives of Health Care Providers and Mothers,
Evidence to End FGM/C: Research to Help Women Thrive (New York: Population Council, forthcoming). - Samuel Kimani and Caroline W. Kabiru,
Understanding Medicalisation of Cutting Through Qualitative Research Among Families Using Medicalised FGM/C and Medical Professionals Providing Medicalised Services in Kenya,
Evidence to End FGM/C: Research to Help Women Thrive (New York: Population Council, forthcoming).


