Evaluation of African Women’s Development Fund and the Justice, Development and Peace Commission Female Genital Cutting Intervention Programme in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Female genital cutting (FGC) has been identified as one of the most harmful traditional practices that affect females‟ psychological well-being in Nigeria. Based on reports of psychological problems and increased incidences of maternal mortality caused by FGC in some Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Oyo State, the African Women‟s Development Fund (AWDF) and the Justice, Development and Peace Commission‟s (JDPC) female genital cutting intervention programme was executed. Although monitoring and evaluation activities have been carried out intermittently by JDPC, there has been no known independent-external evaluation of the programme. This study, therefore, evaluated the AWDF-JDPC intervention programme to determine its effectiveness in relation to knowledge of the dangers of FGC and attitudes towards the practice. Survey design was adopted and the Input-Process-Outcome evaluation model was used. Purposive sampling technique was used to select four LGAs; two intervention (Ibadan North-East and Lagelu) and two non-intervention (Ibadan South-West and Atiba) from which 800 participants each were selected. The proportionate to size sampling technique was used to select 934 in-school and 666 out-of-school participants making a total of 1,600. Twenty nine in-depth interviews were conducted for Healthcare Providers (HCPs); and 52 females with participated in the five Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) from the intervention LGAs. Knowledge on dangers of FGC (r=0.71), attitude towards FGC (r=0.68), psychological perception of FGC (r=0.78), intervention activities assessment (r=0.87), victims‟ counselling assessment (r=0.80) and update training assessment (r=0.87) scales were used. Data were analysed using t-test, Analysis of variance and Multiple regression at 0.05 level of significance, while qualitative data were content analysed. There were significant differences in the intervention and non-intervention participants‟ knowledge (t=43.83) and attitude (t=9.67). Their mean scores in knowledge and attitude were 35.63; 39.50 for intervention and 24.10; 37.29 for non-intervention groups respectively. There were significant differences among the three (3) stages of adolescence in relation to knowledge (F(2,797)=12.00) and attitude (F(2,797)=5.22). Intervention programme, psychological experience, age range, present educational level/status, parents‟ educational status, FGC status, marital status, work status and location of residence jointly contributed to knowledge on dangers of FGC (R=.32); while educational level and work status had relative contribution values of β=-.21 and β=.16 respectively. All the interviewees attested to no prior intervention programme, while majority of the participants in the FGDs reported experiencing fear of pain during sex. The beneficiaries of the African Women‟s Development Fund and Justice, Development and Peace Commission female genital cutting intervention programme acquired more knowledge on the dangers of female genital cutting which also influenced their attitude towards the practice. Continued education and dissemination of appropriate information on female genital cutting are necessary to facilitate the sustenance of current knowledge of the dangers inherent in the practice and influence the attitude of females towards the practice