Rapid evidence assessment: Quality of studies assessing interventions to support FGM/C abandonment

The last decade has seen increased focus and investment in interventions to eliminate female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), along with the need to accelerate its abandonment. The UK Department for International Development (DFID) commissioned the Evidence to End FGM/C: Research to Help Girls and Women Thrive project to: 1) assess the quality of studies that have evaluated different interventions for the prevention of FGM/C, and 2) describe the FGM/C interventions that were evaluated by high-quality studies. The quality of evidence on the effectiveness and impact of FGM/C interventions is generally moderate to low. In addition, few baseline surveys are conducted prior to implementing interventions, making assessment of effect and generalizability difficult. Despite a high concentration of studies evaluating anti-FGM/C interventions from sub-Saharan Africa, few emphasize adequate reporting on cultural sensitivity and contexts during the design stage, or interpretation of findings for local policy. This rapid evidence assessment provides valuable methodological lessons for the design of future high-quality assessments or evaluations of FGM/C interventions