The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has stated that the need to intensify national efforts to eliminate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), describing it as a gross violation of the human rights of women and girls.
She stated this in a statement read on her behalf by the Director for the Domestic Violence Secretariat at the commemoration of the 2026 International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation on Friday in the Upper West Region.
Dr Lartey remarked that while Ghana has made progress through legal reforms, community sensitisation, and survivor support, more coordinated and adequately resourced actions are required to achieve zero tolerance by 2030.
She called on all stakeholders and community leaders to take action towards ending the heinous act. She added that ending it was not only a moral obligation but also a legal and developmental necessity.
Speaking on behalf of the Regional Minister, the Chief Director of the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council, Hajia Pognaa Fati Issaka Korey, stressed that FGM must not be understood as a cultural matter but as a developmental setback that affects families, communities, and national progress.
She urged opinion leaders and community members to play a critical role in preventing, protecting, and providing support to survivors and accountability to enhance social change.
The representative from UNFPA, Madam Selina Owusu, pledged the organisation’s continued support for the Ministry and DV Secretariat to strengthen community monitoring and integrate FGM prevention into health and education services to sustain Ghana’s progress.
The ministry organised the event in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund – UNFPA Ghana, with the global theme: “Towards 2030: No End to Female Genital Mutilation without Sustained Commitment and Investment.”
Grace Acheampong, ISD
