The Oyo State Government has embarked on a three-day capacity building workshop for stakeholders in the campaign against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the State.
According to the government, the essence of the training, organised by the State government in collaboration with Hacey Health Initiative, is to sensitise people against the practice of FGM, as a way of ensuring its stoppage across the nooks and crannies of the State.
Speaking at the opening of the capacity building workshop which held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the Executive Secretary, Oyo State Primary Health Care Board, Dr Muideen Olatunji, said the workshop was aimed at increasing the knowledge of members of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, on relevant government policies against the practice of FGM, while also advocating against the practice.
Olatunji said, “What we are seeing here today involves many other stakeholders, and in life, you cannot give what you don’t have. So, if you are not well informed, there is no way you can do the cycle of the campaign against Female Genital Mutilation. This is like the first step towards reaching out to many other people to key into the campaign and help reverse the trend.”
He gave assurances that the State government would continue to sensitize the public on the consequences of FGM on fathers, mothers and the children and the dangers inherent in it, urging traditional circumcisers to desist from the ungodly practice.
The Executive Secretary noted, “We are trying to get it to many people across local government areas and as many LCDAs as possible. We want to get close to the grassroots and from there, people can build the culture. Not only that, we try to educate the younger ones, so that when they become mothers, they already know and they will reverse the trend.”
Earlier, the Executive Director of Hacey Health Initiative, Rhoda Robinson, said the workshop was organized to educate stakeholders on how to participate in the crusade on the need to end FGM in the State, saying that the risks and consequences associated with it are too numerous and grievous.
She maintained that the major focus of the stop cut project, which is being funded by the United Nations Trust Fund, was to end violence against women and to ensure existing policies in the State are being effectively implemented to protect women and their wards from FGM.
Robinson stated that the project would also increase the report of FGM at the community level, explaining that a similar workshop was going on in Osun and Ekiti states in order to sensitise the citizens and residents of the states on the dangers embedded in Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
She appreciated the Oyo State MDAs for supporting the Hacey Health Initiative in trying to find a lasting solution to Female Genital Mutilation in the State.
“We have had partnerships of organisations and institutions that are jointly working towards ending FGM in the states. This activity serves as the foundation of building more capacities that can join in the fight to end FGM within the different communities where FGM still exists today.” Robinson concluded.
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