Oral

Although national governments, UN organizations, NGOs and donors have worked to abolish the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting for decades, very little has been achieved. Examinations of prevalence across two generations of women in Africa show that the problem has not decreased over the last 20-30 years. The first panelist will highlight the results of a survey conducted in collaboration with the Donor Working Group on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting to assess efforts to accelerate abandonment. Tostan, a nonprofit working in Senegal has developed a unique and effective approach to working on female genital cutting. Their Community Empowerment Program uses a cross-cutting, non-formal education model to address a wide range of areas including democracy, human rights, problem-solving, health and hygiene, literacy, math and microcredit. The second panelist will describe the spread of this program and its successes across Senegal. The next paper will present a successful initiative tested in Mexico City to create partnerships between local public officials and advocates to advance Reproductive Health policy. The final panelist will present a policy community advocacy framework to address poor reproductive health outcomes among Latinas.

Session Objectives: 1) Discuss the challenges of evaluating policy advocacy activities 2) Identify the “Social Convention Theory of FGC” which highlights the social dynamics of the practice 3) Articulate the funding strategies of various groups and the Donors Working Group as a whole 4) Develop a strategy for collaboration between advocates and local elected official to create reproductive health policies and programs at the city or county lev

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing