International Rare Disease Day

The last day of February every year is International Rare Disease Day.

The World Health Organization defines rare diseases as diseases or lesions that affect between 0.065% and 0.1% of the total population, the vast majority of which are congenital or chronic diseases that often endanger life.

As of February 2022, there are over 7000 known rare diseases worldwide. There are over 20 million rare disease patients in China, with over 200000 new cases added annually.