MEDICAL
Support
Every 12 minutes, a woman or girl dies from complications linked to FGM.
230 million women and girls worldwide have suffered from it.
that’s more than 5% of the global female population.
This is a preventable tragedy, and it’s why FrontlineEndingFGM is training local midwives in life-saving care and launching a mobile Medical Support Programme on our Born Perfect Caravans.
MEET OUR MEDICAL TEAM
Juliet Albert is the FGM Lead Midwife at the Sunflower Clinic, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, and a leading UK expert in FGM care. Since 1998, she has championed improved services for women affected by FGM, founding the Acton community clinic for non-pregnant women in 2007, which won a Guardian Public Service Award in 2011. She pioneered access to same-day, walk-in deinfibulation under local anaesthetic in the UK and designed the RCM-accredited deinfibulation workshop, training numerous health professionals. She also co-authored the RCM’s FGM e-learning package. Juliet has served as project manager for the Department of Health’s FGM Prevention Programme and as Head of Community Engagement at Barnardo’s National FGM Centre. An RCM Fellow since 2021, Juliet has recently completed her PhD in FGM, further strengthening her contribution to FGM prevention and care.
Huda Mohamed MBE is a London-based FGM Specialist Lead Midwife at Whittington Hospital with over 20 years of experience. A respected activist and public speaker, she is dedicated to supporting women affected by FGM and to educating women and families about their healthcare options and rights. Huda provides specialist care for survivors, raises awareness within healthcare and community settings, and advocates for policies that protect girls and women. Her MBE recognises her tireless commitment to ending FGM and improving maternal and reproductive health through compassionate, expert care and education.
Understanding the Four Types of FGM
FGM is a gateway to violence against women, causing long-term health issues like maternal mortality, disability, and fistula. While all types are harmful, Type 3, or infibulation, presents a unique and deadly threat.
The four types of FGM are:
Clitoridectomy:
Partial or total removal of the tip of the clitoris (the clitoral glans) and/or clitoral hood
Excision:
Partial or total removal of the tip of the clitoris (the clitoral glans), and/or clitoral hood AND inner or outer lips (labia).
Infibulation:
The most severe form, involving the closing of the vulval opening by stitching the lips (labia) together and often also removal of the tip of the clitoris (clitoral glans) and clitoral hood.
Any other form of intentional injury to the genitalia, including burning, piercing, scraping, stretching or pricking.
WATCH OUR VIDEO
Specialist Midwives Juliet Albert and Huda Mohamed MBE (Imperial College London) walk us through the £15 procedure that is reclaiming lives.
This groundbreaking initiative brings deinfibulation directly to the women who need it most. This minor, life-changing procedure re-opens survivors who have been sewn shut by Type 3 FGM—the most severe form of female genital mutilation. It’s a critical step in healing, reducing childbirth risks, and improving the quality of life for 10 million women living with Type 3 FGM across the world.
Every day, a staggering 121 women (Scientific Reports, 2023)Â die from complications linked to FGM, amounting to over 44,000 deaths and approximately 20,000 pre-natal deaths each year (WHO, 2006), often during childbirth. Type 3 FGM dramatically increases these risks, directly causing obstructed labour and severe haemorrhaging, and neonatal mortality rises by 55% with Type 3 FGM (WHO 2006).
One 19-year-old FGM survivor, pregnant and in need of the procedure, shared her story with us. The cost of the operation was beyond her reach, but her need was urgent to avoid life-threatening complications during childbirth.
OUR SOLUTION:
BRINGING THE TRAINING THE LAST MILE
In remote areas of Somalia and eastern Kenya, reaching women affected by Type III FGM can mean travelling far beyond established health services.
The Born Perfect Caravans already make those journeys.
From November 2026, the Global Media Campaign will use the reach of the Born Perfect network to support specialist medical training led by FGM specialists Juliet Albert of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Huda Mohamed MBE, working alongside local health authorities and anti-FGM partners in Kenya and Somalia.
The aim is simple: bring specialist training to the local midwives already caring for women in communities where Type III FGM is widespread.
Midwives will be trained in specialised, trauma-informed care for survivors, including diagnosis, emotional support and deinfibulation (re-opening) — a short procedure performed under local anaesthetic. Crucially, the training will enable deinfibulation to be offered before pregnancy or childbirth, rather than being carried out as an emergency response when infibulation contributes to obstructed labour and other childbirth complications.
The procedure takes around 20 minutes, uses simple equipment and can provide relief from lifelong health complications while reducing risks during childbirth. Women concerned about stigma or retaliation following deinfibulation can also be provided with medical documentation explaining that the procedure was medically required.
GMC and the Frontline Ending FGM network are not carrying out the medical procedure. Our role is to support specialist-led training and use the reach and trusted local networks built through the Born Perfect Caravans to help that expertise reach communities that are otherwise difficult to access.
The first phase will begin in Somalia and the Somali regions of eastern Kenya, with the longer-term ambition of expanding the approach to other African countries where Type III FGM is prevalent.
your donation, their healing
Despite costing £100-150 for women in countries such as Somalia, this deinfibulation procedure costs less than £15 per woman for our programme, but its impact is immeasurable. Your donation ensures that we can bring this life-saving service to every woman in need, free of cost. Join us in our mission to leave no woman behind.