Rare Disease Day is observed every year on 28 February or 29 February in leap years – the rarest day of the year.
A disease is rare when it affects fewer than 1 in 2,000 people. However, there are over 6,000 identified rare diseases and more than 300 million people live with rare diseases worldwide.
These diseases are characterised by a broad diversity of disorders and symptoms that vary not only from disease to disease, but also from patient to patient suffering from the same disease. That is why managing rare diseases requires great efforts from medical personnel to diagnose and treat each and every patient.
In line with our mission, Medis is committed to providing innovative therapeutic solutions also to people living with rare diseases in our region. Therefore, Medis joined the RareDiseaseDay.org global awareness campaign that aims to improve equity in social opportunity, healthcare, and access to diagnosis and therapies for people living with a rare disease.
Rare diseases – key statistics:
- Over 6,000 identified rare diseases
- An estimated 200 rare cancers
- Rare diseases currently affect 5% of the world population
- 300 million people living with a rare disease worldwide – collectively the number of people living with a rare disease is equivalent to the world’s 3rd largest country
- 72% of rare diseases are genetic
- 70% of genetic rare diseases start in childhood
Data source: rarediseaseday.org