Female Genital Modifications in Liberia

The research entitled ‘Health professionals’ perceptions on the health implications of traditional female genital modifications for pregnant women in Liberia’ (PerTradFGMo) is led by Mrs. Christine K. Tarr-Attia (St. Joseph’s Catholic Hospital, Liberia) and Mrs. Grace Hawa Boiwu (Mother Patern School of Health Sciences, Liberia) with the scientific mentoring of Dr. Guillermo Martínez. The aim is to document the implications of tFGMo for pregnant women in Liberia as narrated by the midwives that assist labor/ delivery. Secondary objectives are to i) document how professionals manage the health implications of tFGMo; ii) define how education to professionals in Liberia on the management of implications of tFGMo should be designed, and; iii) explore contextual barriers and opportunities for pregnant women to seek for healthcare when they experience adverse effects of tFGMo. This is a qualitative research that uses a feminist grounded theory approach. This research is entirely funded by AfWORO, and received ethics approval from the University of Liberia-Pacific Institute of Research and Evaluation IRB (Monrovia, Liberia). Liberian registered midwives working in Monrovia were invited as key informants. The study started in June 2017 and data collection completed in September 2017. The Research Team is currently engaged in preparing dissemination and communication materials for PerTradFGMo.

MSM/W & HIV/STI Care in Senegal

AfWORO has established a research collaboration with the Institut de Recherche en Santé, de Surveillance Epidémiologique et de Formation (IRESSEF) in Dakar, Senegal). Within this collaboration, PhD candidate Mrs. Nicole Nkoum (IRESSEF) will receive scientific mentoring from Dr. Elhadji Mbaye (IRESSEF) and Dr. Guillermo Martínez (AfWORO), and will realise her first socio-epidemiological research as principal investigator. The aim of this research is to map and frame the experiences, meanings and values towards psychosocial and sexual health and ill health of men who have sex with men/women (MSM/W) in Dakar, Senegal. Using a life stories approach, this project will reach out to a group of MSM/W identified using a respondent driven sampling approach with the aid of a local NGO that advocates for the needs of vulnerable populations in Senegal. Participants in this project will be invited to voice out their life journey through a legal, social and health system that does not safeguard their sexual rights, including their rights to demand, access and adhere to HIV/STIs prevention and treatment services. This projects aim at translating MSM/W life lessons into a shared knowledge that will inform subsequent training on sexual health and HIV/STI prevention for peer MSM/W, health workers and other policy-makers. This project is funded by the AfWORO and will be conducted in agreement with national regulations for human subjects conduct.

FGMReview: A FGM/C Database

FGMReview is a Knowledge Management Tool that aims at collecting, organising, indexing and making available all the information published on traditional Female Genital Modification (tFGMo) practices. The goal of FGMReview is to help improving and increasing the knowledge on all types of tFGMo by making all grey literature and evidence-based knowledge accessible to researchers, health and social science students, sexual and reproductive health programmes managers, health policy makers, and healthcare providers engaged in the research, project and programme planning, and healthcare and socialcare provision of tFGMo. FGMReview was first launched in 2012. The database is updated on a weekly basis by Dr Guillermo Martínez, President of NGO African Women’s Research Observatory (AfWORO) and is accessible HERE.