Egypt's MOH Marks Rare Disease Day

Egypt's Ministry of Health (MOH) observed "Rare Disease Day" by organizing a ceremony under the rubric "rare diseases challenges and new hopes for cure".

In a statement, the spokesman for the Health Ministry Hossam Abdel Ghaffar affirmed on Wednesday the importance of organizing cultural and awareness activities coinciding with the day to raise awareness on the rare diseases issues and urge early diagnosis of them to contribute to increasing the opportunities for recovery.

The day aims to raise awareness of the over 7,000 rare diseases that impact over 300 million people globally.

They are characterized by a diversity of disorders and symptoms that vary not only from disease to disease, but also from patient to patient suffering from the same disease.

The day was created by EURORDIS and was first launched in 2008 with the Council of National Alliances. The objective was to build a global awareness campaign to help bring rare diseases to the spotlight. February 29, the rarest day, was chosen for the date and a logo was created.