In October 2018 at the International Conference to on Ending Female Genital Mutilation in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, representatives of Gender Ministries from Kenya, Uganda
and Tanzania together with UNFPA and UNICEF Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation officially agreed to set up a tripartite initiative to End Cross border
FGM in the region. Based on the strategic importance and available evidence, the government of Kenya invited the governments of Ethiopia and Somalia to be part of this initiative. This is in line
with the commitment made by the government of Kenya in its National Policy on Elimination of FGM to End Cross Border FGM. The Declaration and Action Plan to End Cross-border FGM adopted at inaugural regional inter-ministerial meeting held on 17th April 2019 will be remembered as the day that 5 countries came together in a land mark meeting to declare an end to FGM, particularly cross border dimensions of FGM. Game changing joint actions were recommended for immediate implementation. The meeting, which is the first of its kind in the history of global efforts to eradicate FGM, put forward bold recommendations that reaffirmed the need for strong partnerships at all levels to end the harmful practice.