Critical Analysis of Interventions Against FGC in Egypt

The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID. Summary Community-based programs designed to discourage the practice of female genital cutting (FGC) in Egypt started as early as the 1920s and have continued to the present day. However, the battle against FGC gained its greatest momentum after the 1994 United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). Today, messages to discourage the practice of FGC are found in most community development, health sector and women's rights programs in Egypt. Although the government has been very supportive of initiatives designed to combat the practice, the longest tradition of active programs is within the NGO sector. More than one model has been used to eradicate FGC in Egypt. However, NGOs seldom document the process they follow in implementing interventions, the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, difficulties faced in implementation, or ways of overcoming those difficulties. Also, there is scant empirical evidence about the impact of these various models of programmatic interventions. The present meta-assessment, therefore, was designed to: (1) document and critically assess case studies of NGO and governmental programs working to combat the practice of FGC in Egypt; (2) identify the gaps and limitations in the implementation of the FGC interventions; (3) examine indicators used for the evaluation of programs against FGC that relate to process, output and outcome level assessments; and (4) disseminate the results of the meta-assessment both within Egypt and elsewhere. Information about each intervention was collected from recent reports describing interventions implemented by different governmental and non-governmental organizations. More detailed information about each intervention was collected through face-to-face interviews with officials in selected organizations. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect the following information about each intervention: objectives, rationale, target groups, implementation procedures, challenges and how they were overcome, the organization's assessment of success of the intervention and strategies as well as indicators used for evaluating the intervention. A total of 15 NGO officials (representing 15 NGOs) completed the in-depth interview. In addition, interviews were conducted with representatives from the Ministry of Health and Population, UNICEF and UNFPA. Preliminary findings of the meta-assessment were discussed in a two-day seminar that was held in Cairo in January 2000. It was attended by 40 participants representing NGOs and governmental organizations involved in FGC activities, donor agencies, research institutes, and CAs. The meta-assessment identified four models of intervention …