The anti-FGM board, Unicef and other stakeholders on Tuesday launched an app to help in the war on FGM.
The Pasha app, which was launched in Kehancha town, will be used in reporting and tracking cases of FGM.
It will also allow people to report anonymously, not only in Kenya but also in Tanzania.
“This application is free of charge and can be used by the community to report any case of FGM anonymously to the people they trust, to the local authorities and the anti-FGM board,” Unicef-Kenya child protection specialist Jackson Onyando said.
He said they expect the app to help ahead of the December circumcision period when children will close schools for holidays.
“This comes after previous multiple anti-FGM campaign meetings conducted along the Kenyan-Tanzania border and because of fear of trauma for those exposing cases, this app will be key,” Onyando said.
He said activists, Nyumba Kumi elders and youth groups have downloaded and tested the app among the Kuria community.
Onyando said the community is willing to cooperate with the authorities in sharing information about the perpetrators.
“We had fear of being exposed by whistleblowers in a tribe where the culture is still deeply-rooted that is why an alert can be given anonymously,” he said.
Late last year, cross-border anti-FGM campaigners who include activists, journalists from Kenya and Tanzania, and NGO partners came up with the digital reporting system solution to outsmart the circumcisers.
By then, the unidentified system was up and running in Tanzania and could be accessed using a mobile phone. It was yet to be launched and implemented in Kenya.
Anti-FGM board programmes manager Nyerere Kutwa said they will later upgrade the app to be used without internet and to use the SMS platform to reach remote places.
“This Pasha mobile application is going to complement other existing mechanisms of reporting FGM cases like the 116 and 195 for reporting GBV concerning children and now we have improved on that by launching the Pasha application, “he said.
Migori county director of gender Kenneth Oomo lauded the move for coming up with the Pasha application as it will help in narrowing down the challenges faced in the fight against FGM and help realise the 2022 goal of ending FGM, as directed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“We have had challenges which have hindered us in meeting the set deadline of eradicating the vice in the country. Cross-border FGM practices have been a major challenge as communities are spread along the border," he said.
Kuria Youth Anti-FGM Network representative Vincent Mwita said they are looking forward to rallying more young people and training more in reporting any cases of FGM.
“As Kuria youth, we are going to share this Pasha mobile app with youths from Tanzania, our close neighbours who are also in the race to champion the eradication of this vice,” he said.
Edited by A.N