Below is an excerpt from the official rare disease day. Kenya marked it's first rare disease day last year with awareness creation in the media and on social media. I have highlighted parts that show you why as persons living with muscular dystrophy, this day is important to us, our families and the society as a whole. What is a Rare Disease? A disease or disorder is defined as rare in Europe when it affects fewer than 1 in 2000. A disease or disorder is defined as rare in the USA when it affects fewer than 200,000 Americans at any given time. ( There is no data available on rare diseases in Kenya). One rare disease may affect only a handful of patients in the EU (European Union), and another touch as many as 245,000. In the EU, as many as 30 million people alone may be affected by one of over 6000 rare diseases existing. 80% of rare diseases have identified genetic origins whilst others are the result of infections (bacterial or viral), allergies