Rare Disease Day was first observed in Europe in 2008. It was established by EURORDIS, the European Rare Disease Organization. In 2009, EURORDIS asked NORD to be its partner in this initiative and to sponsor Rare Disease Day in the United States. Now, the concept is rippling out around the world.

Each year, World Rare Disease Day will be observed on the last day of February (Feb. 29 in leap years and Feb. 28 in other years). Our goal is to draw attention to rare diseases as an important public health issue that cannot be ignored.