First lady Emine Erdoğan has called for stronger international efforts to protect children, particularly those living in conflict zones, during a global summit on child well-being in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where she also attended the opening of a rehabilitation center and visited a historic Islamic complex.

Erdoğan delivered an address at the world summit on "Investing in Child Well-being: A Path to Sustainable and Equitable Development for Future Generations,” bringing together representatives from more than 100 countries to discuss children's rights, welfare and development.

Erdoğan highlighted the growing challenges facing children, arguing that traditional measures of well-being must evolve to reflect the realities of a world shaped by multiple crises.

She said access to nutrition, housing, security, education and health care remained essential, but warned that conventional indicators did not always capture children's broader experiences or the quality of the services they received.

"A child going to school does not always mean receiving a quality education, just as not being subjected to violence does not necessarily mean being loved and valued,” she said, calling for a broader understanding of child well-being.

She also pointed to climate change, armed conflicts, forced displacement, artificial intelligence, digital violence and the exploitation of children's attention as emerging challenges requiring greater international attention.

Children in conflict zones

The first lady placed particular emphasis on children affected by wars, drawing attention to the contrast between childhood experiences in peaceful societies and those in conflict zones.

"When the school bell rings in one part of the world, children run to their classrooms, while in another part, children run to escape the sounds of war sirens,” she said.

Referring to the situation in Gaza, Erdoğan said more than 21,000 children had lost their lives there over three years, while more than 10,000 had suffered permanent disabilities or lost limbs.

She also cited damage to health infrastructure and the disruption of education, saying 197 ambulances, 38 hospitals and 96 health centers had been bombed and rendered inoperable. Around 700,000 students had been deprived of their right to education, she added.

More than 1 million children in Gaza continued to hope for access to their basic rights and well-being, Erdoğan said, stressing that a world in which no one is left behind would only be possible when the sounds of war fell silent.

She urged participating countries to make children's needs a central part of the global agenda and strengthen cooperation to support vulnerable children regardless of their background.

Child protection measures

Erdoğan also outlined Türkiye's policies on child welfare, emphasizing the role of families and the need to address children's physical, psychological and moral development together.

She noted that Türkiye had designated 2025 as the Year of the Family and the 2026-2035 period as the Decade of Family and Population.

She also highlighted the country's Digital Children's Rights Convention, saying Türkiye had taken steps to protect children from risks in the digital environment, including restrictions on social media access for those under 15 and obligations for platforms concerning age verification and parental supervision.

She added that governments, families, educators, civil society and media organizations needed to work together to improve children's welfare.

"Türkiye is always ready for cooperation that will benefit children,” she said.

Rehabilitation center inaugurated

Following the summit, Erdoğan attended the opening of the fifth IMKON Rehabilitation Center and Multipurpose Special Preschool Education Institution in Samarkand.

Erdoğan toured the center's rehabilitation facilities, which serve more than 100 children aged 2 to 18, including those with special developmental needs.

The facilities include rooms for story therapy, fine motor skills development, social integration, art therapy, physiotherapy, sensory integration and paraffin therapy.

The center also has a preschool education section with capacity for 150 children aged 2 to 7. During the visit, guests observed educational activities designed to support children's individual development goals and met with students and teachers.

Erdoğan also visited the institution's dining hall, where she and other guests examined meals prepared for children with special needs. Books featuring recipes were presented to participants, with reference also made to Turkish Cuisine with Centennial Recipes, published under the first lady's initiative and the auspices of the Turkish Presidency.

Visit to Imam Bukhari Memorial Complex

During her visit to Samarkand, Erdoğan also toured the Imam Bukhari Memorial Complex, where she prayed at the mausoleum of the prominent Islamic scholar and visited the complex's museum.

She received information about Imam Bukhari's life and examined historical artifacts on display at the museum.

In a social media post, Erdoğan described the visit as a spiritual journey and paid tribute to Imam Bukhari, whose works on hadith have influenced Islamic scholarship for centuries.

She said the complex reflected the historical and cultural significance of a scholar who made an enduring contribution to Islamic civilization.