Rivers Govt, UNICEF, launch campaign against FGM, train 116 girls on health promotion, women rights

EMMANUEL NLEWEDUM, Port Harcourt

The Rivers State Government, through the Ministry of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has launched a campaign to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in rural communities in the state.

The programme, sponsored by UNICEF, includes a three-day training for 40 adolescent girls in Abua/Odual Local Government Area.

The training aimed at empowering them with knowledge and skills to protect themselves and lead campaign to end FGM and gender-based violence in their areas.

Our Correspondent reports that participants at the training were drawn from 10 different communities of; Okana, Otari, Omokwa, Aminigboko, Arukwo, Omelema, Amalem, Okoboh, Egbolom and Ogbema communities in Abua/Odual LGA.

The training, held at Otari community hall between 2nd to 4th March, 2026, covered topics such as menstrual hygiene, puberty education, communication skills, gender-based violence, child rights, personal hygiene, emotional intelligence, the importance of empathy and peer support, with special focus on the dangers and long-term consequences of FGM, which experts described as a serious violation of the rights of women and the girl child.

UNICEF Facilitator on Child Protection and Ending Female Genital Mutilation, Unah Uchenna, said the training was aimed at empowering the girls with life skills and knowledge to strengthen advocacy, awareness and to end the practices of FGM in communities in Rivers State, as well as looking after themselves.

Uchenna explained that the initiative was designed to train 116 adolescent girls in Rivers State, with a strong focus on reactivating and strengthening adolescent Girls’ Clubs to accelerate the elimination of FGM in the State.

He said, “Our target is to train 116 adolescent girls from 30 communities in 4 selected LGAs of Abua/Odual, Ahoada East, Ahoada West and Emohua, in Rivers state. And we have achieved this in these areas. Here in Abua/Odual, 40 girls have been trained too.”

He urged the Rivers State Government and the people to own up the programme, empower more girls in other communities to take care of themselves, resist peer pressure and also enforce the eradication of FGM practice in the state.

One of the facilitators and Rivers State Chairperson of Child Protection Network (CPN), Inyingi Irimagha, emphasised the need to end harmful traditional cultural practices like FGM and others, that negatively affect girls/women or threaten human dignity and health, but promote a culture of respect for women’s rights.

Irimagha stressed that the government and the state House of Assembly have more works to do interms of enforcing “total eradication of FGM in the society.”

She urged traditional rulers, community leaders and stakeholders to look at the medical angle behind FGM and recognize its harmful effects, and also respect the law and work with the government to eradicate the practice.

She said, “the training was a very holistic one, aimed at equipping the girls with knowledge and skills to take care of themselves, protect themselves and their peers from FGM and gender-based violence.

The girls were taught about self-awareness, self-assertiveness, communication, and how to be good peer educators.

“The River State government, through the House of Assembly has passed a law against FGM, but I think that law needs to be upgraded.

The penalties are not reflective of our current situation. It should be increased, and also be enforced, so people will know that the government is serious about protecting women and girls.

“Our traditional rulers and community leaders on their part, need to understand that the law supercedes culture and customs. Once the law is passed, they should respect it.

“There’s actually no medical benefit for it. FGM is actually causing more harm than good to girls and women, and the leaders must understand this fact,” she said.

Speaking earlier, UNICEF Desk Officer at the Rivers State Ministry of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Dr. Victor Iseberetonma, said the girls were not only trained to become gender champions and to promote advocacy ending FGM and other harmful traditional practices in their areas, “they were equipped with knowledge to improve their health, safety, and social wellbeing.”

Dr. Iseberetonma said, “The idea is to train these adolescent girls, equip them with knowledge and skills to know their rights in the society, to understand the dangers of FGM, and also become advocates against FGM in their communities, in their schools, and wherever they find themselves and also sensitize others including their parents.

He commended UNICEF for choosing Rivers State for the programme, and particularly thanked the organisation’s Child Protection Specialist, Victor Atuchukwu and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Mrs Lauretta Davies-Dimkpa, and others for their contributions that led to the success of the programme.

He reassured of the government’s commitment to continuing the advocacy in strengthening girls’ clubs, and expanding grassroots awareness campaigns against FGM across the State.

The participants described the training as an eye-opener, educating and life-changing, saying it exposed them to important life lessons and equipped them with knowledge to protect themselves and their peers.

One of the participants, Kameela Christian from Egbolom community, thanked organisers of the programme for the knowledge and exposure.

She said, “I feel like the government and UNICEF have heard our cries by bringing this type of programme to us. We learnt about the dangers of FGM and other issues affecting girls and women.

“We are so excited because they have shown us how we can speak for our rights, take care of ourselves and how we can relate to our peers in our communities and the society.

We also learnt about how to live our lives, how to manage our menstrual hygiene, how to use sanitary materials properly and keep our bodies clean,” she said.

Another participant stated that with knowledge acquired from the training, she and other participants will become advocates for change in their communities, by educating their peers and parents on the dangers and negative effects of FGM practice, and the need to stop it.”

Representative of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Ben Uturu, described the training as impactful, noting that “it encompasses target audience, being the adolescent girls, including the aged, the mothers and community stakeholders that have earlier been engaged.”

He stressed the need for more funding from the government to train more advocates in the state especially in communities where FGM is still in practice.

Uturu urge the girls to put what they have been trained for in practice by engaging other girls of their peers in their communities with the knowledge acquired.

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