UNFPA and UNICEF call for a sustainable partnership and engagement with men and boys of Ethiopia to enforce the actions against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and transform the deeply rooted social and gender norm, underpinning the practice, and allowing girls and women to fully realize their rights and potential. The call was made in observance of the International Day of Zero Tolerance against FGM under the theme, “partnering with men and boys to transform social and gender norms to end female genital mutilation”.
Ethiopia has made remarkable progress in the last decade in the reduction of FGM prevalence among girls and women aged 15-49 from 74 per cent in 2005 to 65 per cent in 2016. However, Ethiopia is still home to 25 million circumcised women and girls. This accounts for the largest absolute number in Eastern and Southern Africa.
UNFPA, UNICEF call for a renewed commitment to end FGM
Wide-ranging reforms will aid Africa’s sustainable recovery, says ECA’s Antonio Pedro
African countries should institute wide-ranging fiscal reforms to expedite sustainable recovery from multiple crises which have hindered industrialization and economic diversification, the Economic Commission for Africa’s (ECA) Acting Executive Secretary, Antonio Pedro, has urged.
“Ensuring a sustainable recovery, which protects populations and economies from the shocks of future pandemics and other crises, will require a range of reforms and initiatives at both the national and international levels,” said Mr. Pedro in his remarks at the 2023 Coordination Segment of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on 2 February in New York City.
Pedro highlighted that Africa’s recovery efforts have been undermined by the ongoing war in Ukraine, tightening international financial conditions and the climate crisis.
“For African countries, appropriate policy choices through fiscal reforms as well as building coherent and effective frameworks for mobilizing domestic revenue are needed,” Pedro said, calling for a reprioritisation of public expenditure to invest in more growth-enhancing projects.
He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the largest drop in Africa’s growth rate since World War II, and pushed more than 55 million Africans into extreme poverty.
