Health consequences of female genital mutilation/cutting in the Gambia, evidence into action

Data were collected on types of FGM/C and health consequences of each type of FGM/C from 871 female patients who consulted for any problem requiring a medical gynaecologic examination and who had undergone FGM/C in The Gambia.The prevalence of patients with different types of FGM/C were: type I, 66.2%; type II, 26.3%; and type III, 7.5%. Complications due to FGM/C were found in 299 of the 871 patients (34.3%). Even type I, the form of FGM/C of least anatomical extent, presented complications in 1 of 5 girls and women examined.This study shows that FGM/C is still practiced in all the six regions of The Gambia, the most common form being type I, followed by type II. All forms of FGM/C, including type I, produce significantly high percentages of complications, especially infections."Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting" (FGM/C) refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons [1]. It is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women due to the severe health consequences and the pain and risks involved.WHO calculates that between 100-140 million women and girls in the world have been victims of some kind of FGM/C and that each year about 3 million girls are at risk or are subjected to some kind of FGM/C, essentially in 28 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, northern Iraq (Kurdistan), Malaysia and Indonesia, plus Europe, USA and Australia among many other countries where migrants carry along their culture [2,3]. In many societies it is a rite of passage to womanhood with strong, ancestral sociocultural roots. Rationalizations for the perpetuation of FGM/C include: preservation of ethnic and gender identity, femininity, female purity/virginity and "family honour"; maintenance of cleanliness and health; and assurance of women's marriageability [4,5]. In the Gambia, FGM/C