In Uzbekistan, from the first years of independence, a lot attention has been paid to the institute of family. The goal of the reforms, carried out sequentially in the country, is to protect human interests and to provide peace and prosperity in each family. Healthy atmosphere, prevailing here, makes a solid foundation for upbringing well-rounded people, who can take good position in society. Quiet and prosperous life of each member of a family is the factor for sustainable development and prosperity of the state as a whole.

Currently, state and private institutions, different civic organizations and charitable foundations work closely to elaborate the national program Year of the Family.

Further improvement of national legislation on family relations is among the priorities for this year. The laws, regulations and standards, which will be adopted for development and improvement of the family, will provide for requirements of today and tomorrow; the public's attention to this matter will also strengthen.

It should be noted that the Constitutions of the country determines the status of the family, the equality of spouses, the parental obligations towards children and the responsibilities of adult children for the care of their parents. The government also creates conditions for orphans and children deprived of parental care. These and other questions are also regulated by the Family Code, adopted in 1998. These documents have incorporated the best traditions of this nation. And today experts point out that all changes, which the state’s law will undergo in connection with the implementation of measures to support and develop the institution of family, will also take into account the prevailing culture, traditions and customs of the nation.

Support to young families will get particular emphasis in the governmental program. As the President said during his speech on occasion of the 19th anniversary of Uzbekistan's Constitution, “All of us are well aware that the existence of a strong, healthy family and its happy life depends primarily on the young people themselves, who are building their own family, on their intellectual level, their spiritual and moral values, on their good awareness of responsibilities and obligations before their family and society. And this is an indisputable truth. Strong material and moral support, providing necessary assistance, privileges and preferences to a young family who just enters the life with high hopes, are not only parents’ burden, but especially of the state and the whole society.

Describing the work done in this field, it should be noted that, at present, young families enjoy the support from the government, banking sector, various social organizations, including Kamolot youth movement. Many problems are solved in the framework of the presidential decree “On additional measures of material and moral support of young families.” The banks in the country provide various types of loans, from funds for wedding to credits for housing. It is undoubtful, that this year the opportunities for young families will be greatly expanded.

The Institute of mahalla - self-government bodies of citizens – faces big challenges too. This unique social structure now fully meets high attribute "Mahalla is the conscience of the people." Nothing can be compared with the role and importance which mahalla plays in supporting a young family with necessary support and assistance. Therefore, in the upcoming program the emphasis will be given to the strengthening of role and status of the Institute of Mahalla in the society and in everyday life.

Another important area is the support to hearth keepers - women. The program will include measures to provide even greater opportunities for women to materialize their potential, get health care and other assistance.

Strong family begins with good health of its members. That is why in the development of the health care system much attention is paid to improving the medical services for families. Today, every couple before get married undergoes a compulsory medical examination. This enables young people to create and plan the family, taking into account the level of health of each of them.

With the development of a network of rural medical units and general practice the country has implemented a system of health visit nursing. The health visitor’s tasks include: to make round the families, to advise the healthy lifestyles, to organize the providing of quality health care to the needy. As a result, there is an improve of the situation with early detection of diseases and timely treatment for diseases not only in primary health care but also in regional diversified medical centers and in republican specialized scientific-practical medical centers.

Another element, the health care system proceeds from, is the fact that the health begins in childhood, and child’s health comes from healthy parents. For this reason, the country established a National model of motherhood and childhood, which reduced infant and maternal mortality by more than three times over the past twenty years.

There is not a medical facility which is not somehow involved in maternal and child health in the republic. It is confirmed by the weeks of health improvement conducted once a month among women of fertile age, adolescents and children. During these days, on schedule, the leading experts of national and regional medical institutions visit the most remote villages, where they give medical consultation to the local population.

The national system of maternal and child health has its own network of modern medical institutions, with narrow specialization on solving specific problems in health of women and children. Among these institutions are the Republican Specialized Scientific Centers of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, prenatal and screening centers, obstetrical units.

Back in 1998, Uzbekistan had only one screening center; it was situated in Karakalpakstan and it was carried out as an experimental one. Today, such medical institutions, rigged with modern equipment necessary to prevent the birth of children with congenital and hereditary disorders, has already been created in all regions of the country. The activity of the screening centers relates with 14 % reduction in the birth rate of children with developmental disabilities.

Another example is a network of perinatal centers. Until 2010, there were only two such centers, now they are available in each region. These institutions take on the delivery of women with pregnancy complications. They are furnished with modern resuscitation equipment that allows to foster the most gravely sick patients.

All medical facilities go throw their further development; they are being upgraded with modern medical equipment; its specialists pass refresher courses. According to experts, this will further promote the health and well-being of families. Recall that, in comparison with 1990, the average life expectancy in Uzbekistan has increased from 67 to 73 years.

The development of cooperation between families and educational institutions in matters of upbringing the younger generation will be the major direction of the national program Year of the Family. This is understandable, because the family and educational institutions have a common goal - to educate and prepare children for adult life.

In this context, one of the most important achievements of the education system reform and implementation of the National Program for Personnel Training is that, today, vocational education has become not only affordable, but also mandatory in the country. Almost all girls and boys, finishing the ninth grade, continue their studies in academic lyceums and professional colleges that give them the opportunity to receive the coveted career and find work to their liking.

During the formation of a 12-year compulsory education system, composed of a network of schools, colleges and lyceums, the country has implemented targeted programs for the construction, reconstruction, renovation and equipping of education facilities. The Fund for reconstruction, renovation and equipping of educational and medical institutions was established last year in order to maintain material and technical basis of all these institutions in accordance with the requirements of the time.

To reveal the talented young generation is in the focus of attention. Two state programs aimed at developing extracurricular education are currently implemented in the country. One of them aims to develop children's music and art schools, the other embraces children's centers of creativity Barkamol Avlod. Children's Sports Development Foundation conducts systematic work on strengthening material and technical base of the children's sport complexes and youth sport schools. In these institutions children during leisure hours can find interesting pastime for each of them, acquire additional skills and knowledge that will be useful to them in life.

The higher education is prestigious as well. To develop it, last year, the republic adopted the Program of modernization the financial and technical capacities of institutions of higher education and radical improvement of specialists’ training. In 2010 reforms started in the system of training young scientists. All this creates optimal conditions for every young man to find himself and become a highly qualified specialist.

Announcing the 2012 the Year of the Family, President Islam Karimov called this social institution, the symbol of eternal life. Basing on the objectives outlined in the speech of the head of state, much for the prosperity of millions of families in Uzbekistan will be done this year.

Since this year has social orientation, the draft law on the family business developed in the framework of the Concept of Inte4nsifying Democratic Reforms and Forming Civil Society in Uzbekistan, takes on a special value. The bill was approved conceptually by the lower house of parliament, and now it is being finalized.

It is expected that the bill will encourage the creation of conditions for opening stable new jobs through the development of family business, especially in rural areas.

Under the bill, a family business treated as a separate legal form of business activity undertaken by family businesses. They will be created on the basis of common or shared ownership of the family and with direct participation of its members in the labor. The family business will operate only with establishing of a legal entity; the participants of family businesses can be not only the conjoints on the basis of their common property, but also other family members who have reached working age and who are in kinship.

The announcement 2012 as the Year of the Family is a vivid proof of attention given to the main link of the society, and to its role in upbringing harmonically developed generation. Of course, the Fund has big tasks for this year. As the head of our state noted in his speech in honor of the 19th anniversary of the Constitution, one of the main tasks of the national program Year of the Family will be to strengthen the role of the mahalla in the society.

For centuries, people in Uzbekistan, turned to mahalla with any questions. At the gatherings, residents solve problems related to wedding, childbirth, assistance to the elderly and needy. Family reconciliation commission, consultants on religious enlightenment and spiritual and moral education work at gatherings of citizens today. The fund conducts, on a regular basis, a variety of events aimed at improving the socio-moral and cultural self-consciousness of citizens. Last year the fund examined the situation in more than 4 million households, about 443 thousand of them gained material assistance, more than 383 thousand took medical help, about 336.5 thousand people were provided with jobs. More than 25 thousand families applied to gathering of citizens to resolve family disputes. 12 thousand of them have been reconciled, various controversies were resolved in 5 thousand families.

Today our main objectives are the promotion of high moral values ​​among the younger generation, preparation of youth for family life, caring for the older generation, providing moral, spiritual and material assistance. In the center of our attention also lay the issues of peace and tranquility in each mahalla, beautification and prosperity of the "small motherland", as it is often called by the people.

The development of a network of perinatal centers is a true manifestation of government’s care for the welfare of many families. Because the technologies we apply contribute to the reduction of new cases of maternal and infant mortality. Today, we foster small for date babies, and thanks to our surgeons many children, who otherwise because of the disease would not have lived a week after birth, survive.

Today, perinatal centers are rapidly developing medical facilities. For example, from the beginning our center pays much attention to the development of advanced methods of treatment to help pregnant women with poor health and newborns with abnormalities. Each case needs its own special approaches and equipments. Our growth was accompanied by the acquisition of new equipment, and eventually we were just cramped in the existing building. Now all problems are solved, new additional building was added. There is space for new equipment and for mastering new technologies.

With the declaration of 2012 as the Year of the Family Kamolot movement will implement proper plans and projects. Under one of the projects, children from poor families will be involved in educational circles, operating at social assistance centers and Kamolot youth centers to assist them in mastering professional knowledge and skills. Young Family centers will be created under youth centers and social assistance centers to help young families with medical and legal assistance. The centers will be run by experts from many fields. In order to educate children, and widen their mental outlook it is expected to include special columns in kids’ print with such headings as ‘A family of book lovers’, ‘My favorite book is’, and others. To support and develop family business and entrepreneurship among young families it will be organized special project ‘Family of businessmen is a strong family’. Its most active participants will be assisted with obtaining lax micro credits.

Throughout the year, Kamolot will hold various competitions among families.

Today in Uzbekistan every child has opportunity to learn a profession and specialty. However, in practice, still only 99.8% of students continue studying in the institutions of secondary specialized and vocational education. The reason, in most cases, is the unwillingness of parents in remote areas to send their children far away from home. The next step of taking care of such families and children was the decision to build in 2012, ten professional colleges and 24 branches of already existing similar institutions. They all will be opened in hard-to-reach, remote areas of Samarqand, Qashqadaryo, Surkhondaryo and Farghona regions.

The construction and organization of colleges and branches will be done according to the standards and rules, approved in the country, for ensuring full-fledged educational process. Engineers and builders resolve issues regarding creating comfortable classrooms rigged with modern equipment, training laboratories, workshops, sports facilities.

At the same time the residents of remote settlements still will be able to choose the institution where they wish to continue their studies. All high schools and colleges of the country will be at their disposal. The development of infrastructure of existing institutions of secondary specialized, vocational education for admission students from other localities will also continue in 2012. For example, it is planed to build dormitories in 18 colleges and high lyceums.

The announcement of 2012 as the Year of the Family has a special significance for stirring up the work of Women's Committee towards the family. First of all, we work hard to increase social assistance to needy families in upbringing and educating their children. Also, a special attention is paid to support family business and entrepreneurship.

Another new project which starts this year is the creation of information and resource centers under public gatherings, designed to provide psychological, legal and social assistance to families. Such counseling centers will be open for all family members. This project will be implemented jointly with Mahalla Foundation and gatherings of citizens in each district. There will also be held explanatory conversations on the role of men and women in building a healthy family, reproductive health, parenting teenagers in family. Many of our activities will be conducted jointly with the scientific and practical center Oila.

The next item on the activities of the Women's Committee in the framework of the Year of the Family will be the assistance to families who have children with disabilities and to kids from poor families. In this regard, a number of projects is planned to fulfill, in conjunction with the Soglom Avlod Uchun Foundation. Also, special events under the slogan ‘Our choice is healthy lifestyle’ will be organized in educational institutions and in mahallas.

Each year, in cooperation with commercial banks, we develop a work plan for explaining credit issues to women and to help young entrepreneurs to start their own business. We plan to hold contests for women entrepreneurs’ best project in manufacturing, service, and in rural areas. We will also organize various competitions dedicated to family.

In 2007, with the program SISF I got a 500,000 soum loan, and I bought a cow. By the end of the year, I had two cows. I got money which I could dispose at my own. In 2008, I entered university and I was able to pay for my education. Sense of freedom and seniority in the family gave me opportunity to assert myself. And in 2009 I became the winner of the contest "The modern Uzbek rural woman" in nomination "The youngest woman farmer." It inspired me to new ideas. I decided to expand my business, to buy a new technology for milk processing and to invite into my business all the relatives and friends.

Since childhood, I was fond of needlework; first I sewed clothes for dolls, but later I began to sew for myself and for my home. In special courses I have learned floral design, patchwork, sewing, I learned the basics of accounting. Finally, I decided to be entrepreneur and I decided to open a sewing shop. In 2010 I won a grant from Mehr Nuri Foundation. On this capital I acquired sewing machines and all necessary stuff for a small fashion studio. Today, almost all women from my family work in my studio. Now I want to get higher education and to create on the basis of available equipment a center for interior design, to teach sewing to young girls.