29th February 2020, worldwide.

Rare Disease Day takes place on the last day of February each year, a month known for having a ‘rare’ number of days.. The main objective of Rare Disease Day is to raise awareness amongst the general public and decision-makers about rare diseases and their impact on patients’ lives.

Building awareness of rare diseases is so important because 1 in 20 people will live with a rare disease at some point in their life. Despite this, there is no cure for the majority of rare diseases and many go undiagnosed. Rare Disease Day improves knowledge amongst the general public of rare diseases while encouraging researchers and decision makers to address the needs of those living with rare diseases.

Events are down to hundreds of patient organisations all over the world who work on a local and national level to raise awareness for the rare disease community in their countries.

Since Rare Disease Day was first launched by EURORDIS and its Council of National Alliances in 2008, thousands of events have taken place throughout the world reaching hundreds of thousands of people and resulting in a great deal of media coverage.

On rarediseaseday.org you can find information about the thousands of events happening around the world on the last day of February. If you are planning an event, register your event details on the EURORDIS event page to get your event listed on the site!