Content warning: This email discusses violence and harmful practices against women and girls.

In the West African country of Guinea-Bissau, more than 400,000 girls and women have been forced to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM). Every year, over 2 million girls are subjected to FGM worldwide — many before their fifth birthday. This cruel and dangerous practice inflicts chronic pain, depression, infertility, and even death. For expectant mothers, the danger multiplies, turning childbirth into a perilous ordeal fraught with stillbirths and neonatal loss.

But supporters like you, partnered with UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, are changemakers, working together to rewrite the story to end FGM in 18 countries, including Guinea-Bissau, for good.

Summer is often cutting season — a time when girls are most at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation. We invite you to partner with us in building systems of support, education, and healthcare that help women and young people know and claim their rights. Will you make a gift to help end FGM for good?

In a country where three out of four women and girls believe the practice should end, progress hinges on passionate supporters like you empowering them to push for change in their communities.

Our work together has been successful. In the Gabu region of eastern Guinea-Bissau, 24 rural communities made a powerful stand against harming women and girls through FGM. They now celebrate a girl’s right to grow up safe and healthy and to reach her potential. With music, dance, and heartfelt declarations, they emphatically said: No more.

Progress like this is possible because of supporters who open their hearts and contribute to ending FGM and the lifelong harm it causes.

Gifts made to UNFPA can expand education, open dialogues, and build robust support systems that empower women and girls to know their rights and seize their futures. This is where your compassion can do so much toward ending FGM for good.

Your gift can be a beacon of hope, delivering education, healthcare, and advocacy to at-risk communities in Guinea-Bissau and across all 18 countries where we work. You have the power to change lives — one community, one commitment, one girl at a time.

This cutting season, will you open your heart and help end the harmful practice of FGM? You can provide the care and support services to safeguard girls and women worldwide. Make a lifesaving gift now and join the movement to end FGM for good.

With hope and appreciation,

— USA for UNFPA