Uzbekistan hosted the World Summit on Investing in Children’s Wellbeing in Samarkand on 21–22 October 2026. The summit concluded with the adoption of the Samarkand Declaration on Investing in Children’s Wellbeing.
The host nation organised the event alongside the World Bank, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence Against Children. Children make up approximately one-third of the world's population.
Shakhnoza Mirziyoyeva stated, "We often say that ‘children are our future’. But after I became a mother, I began to understand these words differently. For parents, a child is not the future. A child is today. Today we care about their health, their safety and whether they feel loved." Mirziyoyeva added, "Today their happiness, health and safety are in our hands. Tomorrow, the future of our countries and of the whole planet will be in theirs."
Uzbekistan’s First Lady Ziroat Mirziyoyeva attended the inauguration of the IMKON centre in Samarkand. The IMKON centre's preschool department accommodates 150 children across 10 specialised groups for those aged 2 to 7.
Approximately 100 children between the ages of 2 and 18 can receive care in the centre's outpatient department every month. In 2025, the IMKON network provided more than 546,000 sessions and treatments, with 3,777 children completing outpatient rehabilitation.
Construction has started on another IMKON centre in Fergana, while additional facilities are planned for Namangan and Nurafshan in the Tashkent region. The network currently operates centres in Qibray, Karshi, Nukus, and Zarafshan.
