The UK is leading the international fight to stamp out female genital mutilation with the largest ever investment into grassroots programmes in Africa dedicated to ending the dangerous practice.

International development secretary Penny Mordaunt has announced an extra £50 million in UK aid to support programmes in the community, such as girls’ clubs in schools.

The department hopes that such grassroots campaigns will shift the perception of FGM in many African countries so it is no longer viewed as a normal rite of passage but as a harmful practice.

The World Health Organization defines FGM as any procedure involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

It usually takes place any time up to the age of 15 and, according to data from children’s charity Unicef, 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone the procedure.