PatientsKyowa Kirin celebrates Rare Disease Day 2024 across the world

Join us as we celebrate the rarest day of the year, Rare Disease Day (29 February 2024), as we #LightUpforRare and support the hundreds of millions of people and their families living with a rare disease worldwide.

Rare Disease Day (RDD) this year takes place on Thursday 29 February 2024 - the rarest day of the year. RDD was launched in 2008 by EURORDIS and has since become a worldwide phenomenon, with patient organisations in over 100 countries around the world participating each year. The day aims to raise awareness of the importance of equity for the 300 million people living with rare diseases worldwide.

Every year, Kyowa Kirin comes together to mark the event by raising awareness of rare diseases, highlighting the unmet needs of those impacted, and sharing how we are relentlessly working to support the community throughout the year.

Throughout the month of February, we asked Kyowa Kirin colleagues around the world to share images and videos as they #LightUpForRare.

Watch the video to see how our colleagues got on and to see our collective Global Chain of Lights to celebrate RDD on the 29th of February 2024.

To celebrate RDD this year and throughout the month of February, Kyowa Kirin will join the rare disease community to #LightUpForRare. By showing our global support, we are proudly signaling our commitment and unity to those with under-diagnosed and under-served diseases.

There are over 6,000 distinct rare conditions, currently affecting about 300 million people worldwide and it takes approximately five years on average for rare disease patients to get a diagnosis. Rare diseases not only affect patients, but also impact their families, friends, and caretakers. For example, two-thirds of family carers spend more than two hours a day on disease-related tasks and seven in ten reduce or stop their professional activity due to their family member’s rare disease.

Watch the video below to hear more from some of the people we've partnered with around the world who are living with rare diseases.