The annual Midwives Association of Kenya (MAK) Conference is one of the country’s most important gatherings for professionals working in Maternal and Newborn Health. Each year, it brings together midwives, policymakers, educators, and health advocates to strengthen care and share new evidence shaping reproductive health practice.
At this year’s event, a pre-conference session led by Africa Coordination Centre for the Abandonment of FGM (ACCAF), a consortium partner of The Girl Generation, brought the issue of female genital mutilation (FGM) to the fore, focusing on how midwives can play a central role in ending FGM and tackling its medicalization.
The session, themed “Midwives as Catalysts for Ending FGM: Combating Medicalization and Strengthening Clinical and Community-Based Prevention”, featured voices from health systems, academia, county leadership, training institutions, and youth networks.
Embedding FGM Prevention in Health Systems
Opening the discussion, Prof. Samuel Kimani, the Integration Lead for The Girl Generation-ALM Programme, emphasized the importance of embedding FGM prevention within the broader health system.
He highlighted how the programme has worked to integrate FGM into medical training and service delivery through curricula reform, provision of training, and multi-sectoral partnerships that strengthen coordination between health and community actors.
“We cannot win the efforts against FGM if we do not include the community,” he noted, underscoring the need for joint action between midwives and community structures.
County Leadership and Sustainable Integration
From the county level, Dr. Nenee Esterine from the Narok County Government shared how integration efforts have evolved in her county. What began with a small group of ten mothers has now reached more than a thousand, thanks to strong county ownership and collaboration with ACCAF.
Over 200 healthcare providers have been trained through this partnership, with each provider becoming a voice against the medicalization of FGM.
“We hope to spread these learnings to other counties, seeing how well it has worked in ours,” she said, adding that students passing through the Model Health Facility in Narok County hospital were now exposed to preventing and responding to FGM better, building continuity across generations of health workers.
Strengthening Training through Curriculum Reform
Dr. Joyce Jebet emphasized that meaningful change begins with how midwives and nurses are trained. She pointed to curricula reform as a critical step in equipping the next generation of health workers to recognize, prevent, and respond to FGM.
“If FGM content is fully included in midwifery and nursing training, we give students the knowledge and skills they need,” she said. “But we can’t win alone; partnerships remain key.”
Building Understanding Through the End FGM Curriculum
Reflecting on the rollout of the End FGM Curriculum in mid-level colleges, Teacher Gilbert, a beneficiary of the FGM Research Project, shared its success and tangible impact on learners.
“With this curriculum, our students don’t just study FGM; they understand it, question it, and become part of the solution,” he said. “The support we’ve had ensures every learner leaves more equipped to lead change.”
Strengthening Skills and Cultural Sensitivity
Hellen Sankaine shared insights from mentoring more than 100 medical students and trainers, noting how exposure to FGM-focused tools and discussions improves clinical care and cultural sensitivity.
“With the FGM Research tool, students ask better questions, gather stronger data, and give more meaningful counselling,” she said. “If FGM content is fully included in training, we give students the knowledge and skills they need. But partnerships remain key.”
Youth-Led Innovation and Community Engagement
Representing youth and trainee voices, Felix Kipngetich and Fidel Otieno, both ACCAF participants, spoke about innovative ways of engaging communities and applying training beyond their counties.
“When we enter homes, we don’t dictate, we listen,” Felix shared. “That’s how barriers break, trust is built, and dialogue on FGM becomes possible.”
Fidel added that the training gave him tools he could adapt across counties from mentoring peers to strengthening provider response and data use.
Midwives as Advocates Beyond the Clinic
In her closing remarks, Esther Kirigo, Advocacy Officer at Orchid Project, a consortium partner of The Girl Generation, called on midwives to take their leadership beyond clinical settings and into community spaces.
“It starts with standing up and being a role model, showing openly that you are against FGM,” she said. “By working with community health promoters, midwives can extend their voice from the ward to the village.”
Moving Forward
The panel reinforced a shared understanding: that ending FGM requires both system-level integration and community-level trust. Midwives positioned at the intersection of health and society are key to bridging the two.
As Prof. Kimani concluded, the session served as both a reflection and a call to action: to continue embedding FGM prevention into the heart of Kenya’s health systems, and to ensure that every provider, from classroom to clinic, becomes a champion for change.
