Saturday, 29 February 2020, marked the 13th edition of Rare Disease Day. The campaign has continued to grow each year since its launch in 2008, with thousands of events organised across over 100 countries and regions to mark the occasion.

The global rare disease community came together across borders and diseases to show that:
Rare is many. Rare is strong. Rare is proud!

This year, four new countries joined the campaign: Gabon, Iraq, Kosovo, and Rwanda.

The Rare Disease Day 2020 campaign focused on creating adaptable and editable materials, which were translated into over 30 languages to help educate the public about key facts and figures on rare diseases.

The official poster highlighted that, while each rare disease is uncommon, together they affect over 300 million people worldwide. The campaign materials were downloaded a record-breaking 35,000 times.

Around the world, all stakeholders took to social media to share updates on their activities and messages of solidarity throughout the day.

The official hashtag #RareDiseaseDay trended in a record 13 countries across five continents, including Australia, Canada, France, India, and Mexico.