Support to the Africa-Led Movement to End FGM/C
'Support to the Africa-Led Movement to End FGM/C' (ALM) is a UK-government funded programme designed to significantly reduce the prevalence of female genital mutilation or cutting in Kenya by 2025.
Support to the Africa-Led Movement (ALM) to End FGM/C is an ambitious five-year programme that aims to achieve an accelerated reduction in the practice of FGM/C in Kenya by 2025.
The programme is funded by the UK government (FCDO) and will build on the foundations of the first five-year investment (2013 – 2018) made by the then Department for International Development (DFID), under the banner of The Girl Generation.
A grassroots movement
The ALM is underpinned by the evidence that social movements must be built from the ground up. Grassroots organisations are in the best position to understand the dynamics of change around FGM/C decision-making. This programme will therefore be led by their expertise, placing girls and young women at the heart of programme design, implementation, and evaluation.
Led by Options, in partnership with Amref Health Africa, ActionAid, the Africa Coordination Centre for Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation (ACCAF), Orchid Project, The Population Council, and the University of Portsmouth, the consortium will deliver the programme over a five-year period, until September 2025. Together, the partners bring unparalleled global advocacy and convening power for end-FGM/C efforts within Africa and on the global stage, as well as deep links with communities and networks of activists across the continent.
The partners are united by a shared vision of a world where girls and women can exercise their power and rights, enjoy expanded choice and agency, and are free from violence – including FGM/C.
Amref's expertise
Amref Health Africa brings considerable experience in working closely with communities to reach the decision to abandon the practice of FGM/C. For more than a decade, we have worked with Maasai communities in Kenya and Tanzania to develop the Community-Led Alternative Rites of Passage (CL-ARP) model, which retains the cultural significance of FGM/C without the physical or psychological damage of the cut. Instead, girls are passed through an ‘alternative rite of passage’, marking their transition into womanhood without inflicting harm.
An independent evaluation conducted in 2020 found that the CL-ARP model had contributed to a 24% reduction in cases of FGM/C in Kajiado County, Kenya, over a ten-year period. Building on that track record, we later extended our work to Ethiopia, Senegal, and Uganda: countries where we have had a permanent presence for many years.
Watch: The Impact of COVID-19 on FGM/C
For the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM/C in February 2021, Amref co-organised a panel discussion featuring grassroots activists from across Africa, facilitated by Leyla Hussein and featuring Wendy Morton MP.
