The prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation is 15 per cent, according to the Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS) of 2022.
The report released on Tuesday further indicates that the prevalence has declined by more than a half from 1998, which recorded 38 per cent.
Then, the data taken excluded the Northeastern region and several northern districts in the Eastern and Rift Valley regions.
KDHS data further shows that there has been a steady decline in illegal activity over the years.
The data collected in 2003 shows that the prevalence was at 32 per cent, in the period of 2008-09 it dropped to 27 per cent and in 2014, it decreased by 6 percent, to 21 per cent.
"Since 2014, the percentage of circumcised women who were cut and had flesh removed declined from 87 per cent to 70 per cent, while the percentage of circumcised women sewn closed increased from 9 per cent to 12," the report shows.
Noting that the FGM prevalence generally increases with age, KDHS shows that 9 per cent of women aged between 15-19 years had been circumcised.
This is compared to 23 per cent of women aged 45-49 years who had been circumcised.
The government has enacted a legislative ban on FGM and child abuse.
This includes the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act, 2011 and the Children’s Act, 2022.
