A new $15.5 million philanthropic fund has been launched to accelerate global efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation (FGM), with campaigners describing the initiative as a potentially significant boost at a time when funding for programmes tackling the practice is declining.
The Her Horizon Fund, established by the US-based Wallace Global Fund with an additional contribution from an anonymous donor, aims to raise a total of $100 million from philanthropists and other donors. The larger goal is to help create a turning point in efforts to end FGM within a generation and support organisations working directly with affected communities.
FGM has affected more than 230 million women and girls worldwide and remains widespread in several parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The practice involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons and can result in severe immediate and long-term health consequences.
The new funding comes amid concerns that progress made over several decades could be undermined by shrinking international assistance, political resistance and challenges to existing legal protections. The United Nations has set a target of eliminating FGM by 2030, but campaigners say current progress is not sufficient to meet that goal.
One of the clearest concerns is the reduction in international funding for anti-FGM programmes. Funding for the joint programme run by the UN Population Fund and UNICEF across 18 countries fell by about 45% last year, from $29.6 million to $16.3 million.
Campaigners say the funding squeeze is particularly damaging to grassroots organisations and survivor-led groups, which often work directly with families, community leaders and governments to change attitudes and strengthen legal protections.
Ifrah Ahmed, a Somali-Irish FGM survivor and activist who founded the Ifrah Foundation, said sustained financial support was essential to keeping the movement alive. Her organisation has been involved in efforts to secure legislation against FGM in Somalia, where the practice remains extremely prevalent.
Ahmed’s organisation lost $300,000 in UN funding last year but managed to find alternative financial support. Three of Somalia’s seven federal member states have since adopted anti-FGM laws, while proposed legislation in two others has received cabinet approval and is awaiting parliamentary consideration. However, campaigners continue to face opposition from some religious leaders.
The experience highlights both the progress and the fragility of efforts to eliminate the practice. Several countries, including Burkina Faso, The Gambia and Kenya, have criminalised FGM, but activists warn that legal victories cannot be taken for granted.
In The Gambia, the country’s Supreme Court is considering a constitutional challenge to the 2015 law banning FGM. The challenge follows an unsuccessful attempt in parliament in 2024 to repeal the legislation. In Sierra Leone, meanwhile, campaigners have criticised the failure of a new Child Rights Act to include a prohibition on FGM despite years of advocacy by women’s rights organisations.
Susan Gibbs, senior adviser on women’s rights and FGM at the Wallace Global Fund, described FGM as a severe form of gender-based violence and a major public health emergency. She said decades of progress had been accompanied by growing political resistance and a decline in donor support.
Gibbs argued that resources needed to reach frontline organisations must be increased and delivered more directly. According to her, survivors and local activists understand the social and cultural realities of their communities and should have the power and resources to lead efforts to end the practice.
FGM can cause severe pain, excessive bleeding and infections immediately after the procedure, while survivors may experience chronic pain, complications during childbirth and long-lasting psychological trauma. A 2025 study estimated that FGM was associated with around 44,000 deaths annually across 15 countries examined.
The Her Horizon Fund was formally launched during a global Justice for Girls gathering in Kenya earlier this month. Its backers hope the initiative will encourage other donors to increase financial commitments and help grassroots movements expand their work.
For campaigners, the challenge is not simply to maintain existing progress but to build enough political, legal and community momentum to make the abandonment of FGM permanent. With hundreds of millions of women and girls affected, they argue that sustained investment in survivor-led organisations could determine whether the international goal of ending the practice becomes achievable or remains out of reach.
