These guidelines are intended primarily for health-care professionals involved in the care of girls and women who have been subjected to any form of female genital mutilation (FGM). This document also provides guidance for policy-makers, health-care managers and others in charge of planning, developing and implementing national and local health-care protocols and policies. The information contained in this document will also be useful for designing job aids and pre- and in-service professional training curricula in the areas of medicine, nursing, midwifery and public health for health-care providers caring for girls and women living with FGM.