End FGM EU Takes Action at Women Deliver Conference: Catalysing Global Efforts to End FGM/C

15/11/2023

The Women Deliver Conference is a global platform for gender equality that prioritizes sexual and reproductive health and rights. This year's event, held in Kigali, Rwanda from July 17th to the 20th, was themed "Spaces, Solidarity and Solutions." End FGM EU, in partnership with global organizations, was present to ensure that the issue of FGM was highlighted throughout the week – and we were successful!

On 16th of July, jointly with the partners from the Global Platform for Action to end FGM/C and the Interregional Coalition we organised a full day official pre-conference: “Catalyzing Global Action To End Female Genital Mutilation Or Cutting (Fgm/C)”

The event gathered around 150 participants: experts, donors, civil society representatives, grassroots activists, researchers, institutional and governmental representatives from around the world, all committed to bring an end to FGM/C.

The whole event was conceived with a participatory approach: the content of the day was co-designed by the organising partners, the participants and other stakeholders, and the programme of the day was composed not only of panel sessions and fire-side chats but also of working groups discussions to allow all those in the room to actively take part in the Pre-conference and shape its outcomes.

The main outcome of the Pre-Conference was the first wave of endorsement for the blueprint of the Kigali Declaration: “From Rhetoric to Reality: Closing the Funding Gap and Uniting for Action to End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting”. The Kigali Declaration calls on donors all over the world to

Significantly increase funding towards the end FGM/C sector

Shift the funding to grassroots organisations

Convene a Global Commitment Summit to increase chances of meeting SDG 5.3

The blueprint received wide support during the Pre-Conference and WD2023 week. Its final version includes the outcomes of the conversations and recommendations that arose during the Pre-Conference and is being widely circulated among partners and stakeholders globally to push for acceleration of resource mobilization for the sector.

SIGN THE KIGALI DECLARATION HERE