The West Africa Project

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The West Africa Project A journey seen through
the eyes of an FGM Specialist Comfort Momoh
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• 1 woman dies every minute from complications
  in pregnancy or childbirth
• 14,000 women every day from lack of FP,
  skilled birth attendance or emergency obstetric
  care
• In Africa 1 in 16 women suffer
  life- threatening complications
• Develop c the risk drops drastically to
  12,8000

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• The trip was a fascinating opportunity
• Immerse myself in the culture of four countries
  in West Africa
• To see for myself the reality of taking the
  next step in the struggle against FGM
• To learn about the attitudes of women in
  Gambia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone
• To gather research with a view to presenting
  findings to interested groups back in the UK,
  thus raising awareness

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• The purpose of my journey was
• To explore the current attitudes of women in
  West Africa to FGM
• Reflect on if, and if so how, attitudes differ
  from those I found on a trip to Somalia some
  years ago
• To gain an insight into the everyday struggles
  of Africans to empower women at grassroots
  level, in the process of social transformation

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• Outcomes
• Overall attitude towards FGM are slowly
• changing as more and more women oppose
• its continuation.
• . Some men now sees FGM as a negative
• tradition and wants law against it.

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Lesson Learnt Strategies to end FGM must be done
by holistic, community-based education and
awareness raising. Programme must be country
specific and adapted to reflect regional, ethnic
and socioeconomic variances. Professionals
working in extreme poverty with limited medicines
and equipments
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It is generally the older women and excisors who
are the major force behind maintaining the
practice. The enticement of a big party, festive
cooking and new cloths are commonly used as
incentives for a girl to undergo the procedure.
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Maya Angelou We may encounter many
defeats but we must not be
defeated Thank you