The study findings showed that awareness of FGM/C was high across the four (4) rounds of MICS survey datasets, while the prevalence of mothers and their daughters being circumcised has declined. The prevalence of FGM/C practice is lowest in the northeastern region and has been declining steadily in the southwestern region. FGM/C practices are still relatively high in the southeast, southwest, north-central, and northwest, respectively. The findings indicate statistically significant differences in awareness and prevalence of FGM/C before and after the enactment of the VAPP Act, with heterogeneous patterns across geopolitical regions. While these trends are consistent with a potential policy effect, the results should be interpreted as associative rather than causal.
Nzeribe et al. (Sun,) studied this question.