Uzbekistan opens new Imkon rehabilitation center for children in Samarkand

A new Imkon rehabilitation center for children has opened in Samarkand, providing preschool education, specialized educational support and rehabilitation services for children with individual developmental and medical needs. The opening ceremony took place during the international summit titled "Investing in Children’s Well-being: A Path to Sustainable and Equitable Development for Future Generations." The event was attended by Uzbekistan's First Lady Ziroat Mirziyoyeva, along with other first ladies and high-ranking guests participating in the summit.

The new facility operates under the National Agency for Social Protection under the President of Uzbekistan. It combines preschool education, correctional-pedagogical support and comprehensive rehabilitation services. An individual program is developed for each child based on their specific needs.

The center's preschool education department can accommodate 150 children aged 2 to 7, with places distributed across 10 specialized groups. The outpatient department is designed to provide rehabilitation courses for approximately 100 children aged 2 to 18 each month. The center offers several types of rehabilitation and developmental support, including therapeutic physical education, speech development, fine motor skills training, sensory integration therapy and physiotherapy.

Its medical and educational staff includes physicians representing seven specialties, along with speech therapists, psychologists, special education specialists (defectologists) and rehabilitation experts. These specialists will provide services as part of the center's integrated approach to preschool education and rehabilitation.

The Samarkand facility has joined the existing Imkon network, which operates centers in Nukus, Qibray, Qarshi and Zarafshon. According to reported figures, more than 546,000 treatments and sessions were conducted across the network's facilities in 2025. During the same period, 3,777 children received outpatient rehabilitation services.

The opening of the Samarkand center adds another facility to the network providing specialized educational and rehabilitation support. The Imkon network is also expected to expand to other regions of Uzbekistan. Construction of a similar rehabilitation center has begun in Fergana. Plans are also underway to establish additional facilities in Namangan and Nurafshon, a city in Tashkent region.

Earlier, it was reported that Uzbekistan's First Lady Ziroat Mirziyoyeva had received an international award recognizing her contributions to global healthcare. The award, established in 2019, recognizes leadership and achievements that have produced tangible results in public health.