Athens Medical School Leads Major Initiative to Combat Female Genital Mutilation in Sudan

The School of Medicine at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens is bringing together an international consortium of medical schools from Europe and Africa to develop model educational programmes that advance women’s health and human rights in Sudan.

At the centre of this initiative is the School’s postgraduate programme Global Health – Disaster Medicine, led by Professor of Surgery Emmanouil Pikoulis. It is he who coordinates the new EU-funded Erasmus+ project ‘Empowering Higher Education to Address Female Genital Mutilation in Sudan’ (HEAL-FGM. Capacity Building for Higher Education. Proposal Number: 101237677), which forms part of the University’s international cooperation and academic outreach efforts.

This three-year project aims to tackle harmful traditional practices by leveraging higher education, developing innovative curricula, empowering academic staff and students, and engaging local communities.

HEAL-FGM is being implemented by an international consortium of universities and organizations, including:

• Ahfad University for Women (Sudan)
• Elsheikh Abdallah Elbadri University (Sudan)
• University of Gadarif (Sudan)
• University of Gezira (Sudan)
• National Council for Child Welfare (Sudan)
• Research Innovation and Development Lab P.C. – ReadLab (Greece)
• Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna (Italy)
• CESIE – ETS (Italy)

In the words of Professor Emmanouil Pikoulis: ‘Through HEAL-FGM, the School of Medicine at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and its MSc in Global Health – Disaster Medicine are enhancing their international profile in education and research, while drawing attention to pressing global health challenges, including the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, one of the most severe in the world’.

The project also aims to make a tangible contribution to promoting gender equality, improving access to healthcare, and eliminating practices that have severe and long-lasting effects on women’s physical, reproductive, and mental health across the African continent.