Lessons Learned: Providing Communication and Technical Assistance in FGM Programs

This 10-item list of lessons learned, offered by Carol Corso, previous Director of Communication at the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), explores strategies for the provision of technical assistance (TA) in behaviour change communication (BCC) programming designed to eradicate the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM).

The key theme to emerge from Corso's recommendations for those seeking to provide TA in for anti-FGM programming is that of involving the local community fully in the process - from start to finish. She stresses that, in contrast to family planning or other health communication projects, TA should be requested by the local implementing agency - based on a felt community need to address the issue of FGM. Due to the sensitive nature of FGM, Corso stresses, agencies providing TA in FGM should underplay their efforts; any high-profile provision of TA could be misconstrued as a "Western plot" to undercut traditional practices. What this means in practice, the author explains, is that TA should be provided, ideally, by staff hailing from, living, and/or working in the country; those who speak the same language and/or are from the same ethnic group should be at the core of the effort. These personnel are best situated to, for example, understand slang words for FGM and sexually related actions within the local dialect - words that "an outsider wouldn't know". In short, TA works best when it is specific to local context.

Local participation is also crucial, Corso argues, in the context of TA-related research and training efforts. For instance, communities should be involved in research that the local implementing organisation is undertaking to guide the FGM intervention; TA can guide this process but should, again, avoid assumptions from an external perspective. To help the local implementing group and community translate ideas about project activities into action, TA and training provided through a workshop setting can be an effective approach. Support on an individual level is also key, Corso notes. TA that will build local staff members' confidence through empowering skills building is crucial to helping them work through complex individual issues surrounding behaviour change on FGM. In short, continuity - continual support and reinforcement at the local level - in the process of FGM-related behaviour change programming is key to what can be a time-consuming (even generation-long) process.

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