0 1
1 More than 1 in 20
2 1 in 20 to 1 to 49
3 1 in 50 to 1 in 499
4 1 in 500 to 1 in 1,999
5 1 in 2,000 to 1 in 4,999
6 Less than 1 in 5,000
7 No Data

Female Genital Mutilation / Cutting in Africa

What does it mean ?

Female Genital Mutilation / Cutting (FGM / C) refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Prevalence of FGM / C is the percentage of all women aged 15-49 years who have undergone FGM.

Why does it matter ?

FGM / C is a violation of the rights of girls and women and is considered a form of gender-based violence. It is associated with serious adverse short and long term health consequences including pain, bleeding, infection and birth complications. Data on the practice is needed to evaluate the impact of policies and legislation and monitor progress toward elimination, which is included as a target for Sustainable Development Goal 5: to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Target 5.3: by 2030 "eliminate all harmful practices, such as early, forced and child marriage, and female genital mutilation."

How is it collected ?

Most data on FGM / C is self-reported and collected retrospectively from large scale, nationally representative surveys such as Demographic and Health (DHS) or Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS).

Unicef datasets most recent available data
http://data.unicef.org/child-protection/fgmc.html Accessed 15th August 2016

Lifetime Risk of Maternal Mortality

What does it mean ?

The Lifetime Risk of Maternal Mortality is the probability that a 15 year- old girl will die eventually from a maternal cause (any cause related to pregnancy, during childbirth, pregnancy or within 42 days of childbirth), assuming that current levels of fertility and mortality do not change during her lifetime. In high fertility societies the risk is higher because on average women go through the risk associated with pregnancy and childbirth many times in their life.

Why does it matter ?

Problems during pregnancy and childbirth are a leading cause of death and disability of women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in low income countries. This indicator acts as a marker of how likely it is to face death related to pregnancy and childbirth and reflects the ability of a country's healthcare system to provide safe care during pregnancy and childbirth.

How is it collected ?

In high income countries the data for Lifetime Risk of Maternal Mortality are from national registers of deaths to women, with maternal death as the cause. Also required in the calculation is the probability of becoming pregnant (fertility rates by age).To calculate LTR, the cumulative probability over a whole life time of becoming pregnant and dying from the pregnancy is there for calculated by summing over all reproductive ages the probabilities of becoming pregnant and dying of maternal causes

LTR 2017 - World Bank. 2020. Lifetime risk of maternal death (1 in: rate varies by country). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MMR.RISK [Accessed 9 March 2020]