Female genital mutilation/cutting: A review of laws and policies in Kenya and Nigeria

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is a cultural practice that has health and human rights impacts on girls and women. The health sector has responsibility for prevention and response to provision of care services to women/girls with FGM/C-related complications. The mandate for the health sector response to FGM/C is anchored in nationwide or sector-specific legal/policy instruments. Kenya and Nigeria have ratified global legal/policy instruments and adopted WHO guidelines/tools for the prevention and management of FGM/C. The extent to which existing legal/policy documents in these two countries address prevention and response to management of FGM/C has been unclear. A desk review was conducted to glean content on the prevention and management of FGM/C in the laws, policies, plans of action, and guidelines of Kenya and Nigeria informed by each country’s comparable legal governance structure and burden of FGM/C. This working paper examines whether the FGM/C-related laws and policy documents in both countries sufficiently address prevention and response to FGM/C management. It also identifies the type of policy environment and opportunities that could be harnessed to trigger and stimulate abandonment and health sector responses toward FGM/C-related complications