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Comfort Iyabo Amah Momoh, (born  1962) is a British
midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; ...
who specializes in the treatment of
female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...
(FGM). Born in Nigeria, Momoh is a member of the British FGM national clinical group, established in 2007 to train health professionals in how to deal with the practice. Until 2017 she served as a public-health specialist at
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust of the English National Health Service, one of the prestigious Shelford Group. It runs Guy's Hospital in London Bridge, St Thomas' Hospital in Waterloo, Evelina London Child ...
in London. She is the editor of ''Female Genital Mutilation'' (2005).


Early life and education

Momoh was born in Lagos, Nigeria, to a Nigerian-Ghanaian family."‘Girls born here can say no to being cut — so families are doing it to them as babies’"
''London Evening Standard'', 6 March 2013.
Her maternal grandmother died days before Momoh's birth, and she was mostly raised by her paternal grandmother."Influencing Practice Locally, Nationally and Internationally"
, Florence Nightingale Foundation Alumni Association Magazine, 2, Autumn/Winter 2015, p. 6.
In 1981 she moved to the UK to train as a nurse at North Middlesex Hospital. It was at Middlesex that she first studied FGM, which is not practised by her tribe in Nigeria.Dan Howar
"On The Frontline: Tackling FGM in a Western Country"
, ''WomenPolice'', International Association of Women Police, May 2012 – July 2013.
In 2002 she obtained a BSc in women's healthcare from the
Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery The Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care is an academic faculty within King's College London. The faculty is the world's first nursing school to be continuously connected to a fully serving hospital and medic ...
,
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
."Comfort Momoh: a carer and campaigner"
King's College London, December 2014.
She received a
Florence Nightingale Foundation The Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) is a charity organisation in the United Kingdom that provides scholarships to nurses, midwives, and other health professionals while serving as a living memorial of the work of Florence Nightingale. His ...
scholarship in 2007 to conduct research into FGM in Africa, and in 2015 the foundation awarded her a travel scholarship to visit the United States to study their approach to FGM.


Career

In 1997 Momoh set up the African Well Women's Clinic at St Thomas's Hospital, dedicated to caring for women affected by FGM. As of 2013 the clinic was seeing around 300 women a year and performing two defibulation operations a week, which involves opening a vagina sewn shut as a result of FGM Type III. Momoh worked as a temporary adviser to the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
in 1999 and represented the UK at the
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the main UN organs within the United Nations. CSW has been described as the UN organ promoting gend ...
in 2001. From around 2007 she worked as a public-health specialist at
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust of the English National Health Service, one of the prestigious Shelford Group. It runs Guy's Hospital in London Bridge, St Thomas' Hospital in Waterloo, Evelina London Child ...
, before retiring in 2017. Momoh also runs Global Comfort Ltd., a private consultancy. She was included in 2014 in the ''London Evening Standard''s list of 1000 most influential people in London.


Awards

In the
2008 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ...
, Momoh was appointed a
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) for services to women's healthcare.Suzi Dixon
"Health and beauty: New Year Honours"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 31 December 2007.
She was awarded an honorary doctorate from
Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated MDX) is a public research university in Hendon, northwest London, England. The name of the university is taken from its location within the historic county boundaries ...
in 2008. In 2011 she won a Gathering of Africa's Best (GAB) award. She was chosen as 2015 Alumna of the Year by King's College London,"Dr Comfort Momoh, King’s Alumna of the Year 2015"
King's College London, December 2015.
and in 2016 she was awarded a fellowship by the Royal College of Midwives."London midwife receives national midwifery honour for FGM work"
Royal College of Midwives, 27 July 2016.


2017 complaint

In September 2017 BBC ''
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'' raised questions about the examination of at least five children by Momoh. The programme explored the weight given by British authorities to the physical examination of girls for FGM and an allegation that the examinations caused trauma to children who had not in fact experienced FGM. Families were reportedly fearful of being accused and split up. Since 2012 the
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, often referred to as the RCPCH, is the professional body for paediatricians (doctors specialising in child health) in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the postgraduate training of paed ...
has required that child-abuse victims be examined by specialist doctors. ''Newsnight'' reported that Momoh had referred to herself as "Dr", although her doctorate is an honorary one, and that during a 2014 court case, the judge, James Munby, had criticized her evidence as unreliable."Questions raised about prominent FGM campaigner"
BBC News, 5 September 2017.
"'I knew my children hadn't had FGM'"
BBC ''Newsnight'', 5 September 2017.
Momoh responded that she had done nothing wrong and had nothing to hide. Nimco Ali, an anti-FGM activist, told ''The Times'': "Comfort has led work to end FGM for over 30 years and has enriched the lives of countless women and girls. Attempts at character assassination of such a great woman reshameful."Lucy Bannerman
"FGM campaigner Comfort Momoh hits back at attack on her qualifications"
''The Times'', 6 September 2017.


Selected works

* (2004). Comfort Momoh. "Female genital mutilation", ''Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol''. 2004 Dec;16(6):477-80. * (2005). Comfort Momoh (ed.) ''Female Genital Mutilation'', Oxford: Radcliffe Publishing, 2005. * (2010). Comfort Momoh. "Female genital mutilation: a global and local concern", ''Pract Midwife''. 2010 Apr;13(4):12-4. * (2010). Comfort Momoh. "A day in the life of ... a female genital mutilation/public health specialist", ''Midwives''. 2010 Aug:50. * (2010). Susan Bewley, Sarah Creighton, and Comfort Momoh
"Female genital mutilation"
''BMJ''. 2010 Jun 2;340:c2728. . * (2014). Katherine A. Zakhour and Comfort Momoh. "Female genital mutilation", in Maureen Dalton (ed.). ''Forensic Gynaecology''. Cambridge University Press, 142–147. * (2016). Maria Luisa Amasanti, Mendinaro Imcha, and Comfort Momoh
"Compassionate and Proactive Interventions by Health Workers in the United Kingdom: A Better Approach to Prevent and Respond to Female Genital Mutilation?"
''PLOS Medicine'', 13(3), 22 March, e1001982. * (2016). Comfort Momoh, Olamide Olufade, and Patrice Redman-Pinard. "What nurses need to know about female genital mutilation", ''British Journal of Nursing'', May 12–25;25(9):S30-4.


References


Further reading


"One woman’s fight against female circumcision"
''
Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented ...
'', BBC Radio 4, 26 October 2006, interview. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Momoh, Comfort Activists against female genital mutilation British health activists British nurses British midwives Living people Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom Members of the Order of the British Empire 1962 births People from Lagos Alumni of King's College London