Djibouti has launched a joint program with the UN Children's Fund and the UN Population Fund to eliminate female genital mutilation (FGM) in the country, according to a news release published on the UN website Friday.
The program, which is the first of its kind, aims to stop subjecting girls and women to unnecessary suffering, the release said.
Djibouti's First Lady Kadra Mahamoud Haid, who officially launched the program, was quoted as saying that the program was "a route toward social progress, a tool to fulfil basic human rights, especially on integrity and dignity for girls and women."
The government of Djibouti "has set up legal and institutional mechanisms to eradicate the violence," she added.
According to UN estimates, nine out of ten girls have undergone the harmful practice in Djibouti and some 3 million girls worldwide are at risk of FGM every year.
A World Health Organization study in six African countries found that women who have undergone FGM face significantly higher risks of extensive bleeding, prolonged labor and death while giving birth.
Source: Xinhua
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