People run at a race as part of the Uzbek National Day celebration. / Courtesy of Uzbek Embassy

Uzbekistan, from the first days of independence, embarked on a course to build a democratic state and mature civil society in all reform processes.

It follows the strategy ``All for the sake of humans, all for the sake of its future."

In the Uzbek constitution, the people and their rights and interests are raised to the rank of supreme values. Legislative documents that envisage provision for human interests are also implemented.

Among the most urgent in this regard are the family code and governmental resolutions on measures for the implementation of family interests, a state program for reforming healthcare, and number of other documents being implemented in the country over almost ten years.

They pursue the main goal ― to ensure the family's well being and bring up a healthy generation.

As a result of implementing purposeful reform in healthcare, the primary link of health service was gradually transformed into family polyclinics.

Based on the population of certain areas, many family polyclinics have branches ― medical stations placed in newly constructed buildings with all necessary modern medical equipment.

Over the years of independence, the system of medical service at stations was fully reconsidered.

Special networks of hospitals for rendering high quality emergency medical aid free to the population were launched and meet the highest requirements.

The Republican Center of Emergency Medical Aid in Tashkent administers and coordinates their activity.

Uzbekistan has specialized clinics with high-technology medical equipment where skilled specialists undertake unique operations to save lives.

To raise medical services for women, Uzbekistan introduced to healthcare the modern principles of prenatal aid recommended by the World Health Organization.

The structure of maternity hospitals was fundamentally reorganized, with 2,018 individual maternity rooms functioning.

The hospitals practice childbirth in the presence of spouses, modern principles of resuscitating newborns, care for healthy and sick children, joint stays by mother and child, and the principle of breastfeeding.

It is difficult to overestimate the role and significance of the network of screening centers in carrying out systematic control of the health of mothers-to-be and birth of healthy children.

The Family Code of Uzbekistan will make recommendations to young engaged couples to undergo medical exams.

In line with the governmental resolution, compulsory medical checks for young men and women set to marry were introduced in 2004.

For the past few years, 1.4 million young men and women who decided to start families had medical exams.

Jointly with medical and patronage aid services, the country carries out constant medical exams in all areas, and especially on women and children.

Primary link specialists conduct annual exams on fertile-age women. The number in 2003 was 6.2 million but rose to almost seven million last year.

Several years ago, however, doctors detected diseases such as anemia, cardiovascular and illness of the kidney, digestive organs and the endocrine system in 77 percent of women of childbearing age who had clinical exams.

Considering the sickness level, all of them had necessary ambulatory or stationary treatment. Specialists carry out constant prophylaxis on separate types of diseases.

The risk group among fertile-age women has decreased to 10 percent over the past few years. From 2005, a national program for preventing anemia in women and children has been working in Uzbekistan.

The program aims at replenishing humans with necessary minerals and vitamins by way of enriching flour.

At the moment, all flour-grinding companies in Uzbekistan do necessary fortification in processing and producing wheat goods.

Prenatal centers jointly with patronage centers and several other public organizations have introduced continuous supply of iodine medicines for pregnant mothers, children and teenagers.

Another problem that affects endocrinal disease is ecology. Considering the seriousness of endocrinal disease, a law on preventing iodine deficiency disease was adopted in Uzbekistan last year.

For several years, the International ECOSAN organization and the State Joint-Stock Railway Company of Uzbekistan are implementing a health train joint project to render mobile aid to socially vulnerable people in various regions of the country, pupils from poorer families, young single mothers and the disabled.

This project is of particular urgency in the scope of accomplishment of tasks set for 2008, the Year of Youth in Uzbekistan.

Depending on season humanitarian goods include the winter or summer clothes, shoes, bed cloth and sanitary and hygiene goods. One of the last destinations of this project was the region adjacent to the Aral Sea.

From 2002, the government has been implementing a program to raise the medical culture of the population, enhance awareness in the protection of reproductive health and mother and child health, and shaping a healthy lifestyle.

A 16-hour study program of the optional course ``Foundations of a Healthy Lifestyle and Family" was introduced to people attending schools and secondary special and higher educational institutions.

It became a tradition to hold annual seminars for mass media on reproductive health and shaping a healthy lifestyle.

As a whole, these efforts are the joint work of the ministries of health, higher and secondary special education, public education and other public establishments.

It is a joy for every mother to give birth to a healthy child. In this context, it is important to note the enormous care of the younger generation by the government, and directly by the leadership of the country.

Since independence, about 30 laws on social support have been adopted.

Budget for social spending including healthcare is increasing an average of five percent per year.

They made up 55 percent of the budget last year and are increasing this year. This means about nine percent or almost 450 billion soum are channeled toward social aid to families with many children.

In 2006-2007, the Uzbek Health Ministry jointly with UNICEF held a nationwide vaccination against measles and rubella of 8.1 million people between 11 and 29 years of age at a cost of $7.5 million.

As a result of introducing new prenatal technologies, the number of pathologic births has sharply decreased.

Indicator of childbirths with inborn anomalies has decreased to 14 percent, baby mortality to 22 percent, and maternal mortality to 26 percent. Nine million children and half a million mothers pass away worldwide each year. This indicator is going down in Uzbekistan year-to-year.

The reforms in the country in all spheres of public life, in particular, in health and protection of maternity and childhood, are aimed at raising a healthy and harmonically mature generation ― a decisive force of tomorrow.

Mutual cooperation between the two countries in healthcare is growing, too.

In a charitable action done June 17-25 in Tashkent, Uzbek and South Korean doctors operated on almost 60 children.

Specialists from the Bundang branch of Seoul National University have visited Uzbekistan's national emergency medical aid center for several years.

They helped children from low-income families and orphanages with inborn illnesses of the palate, arms, legs, chest and other body parts.