The conference onย Rare diseases and European reference networksย will be organised under the auspices of the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council and in cooperation with the authorities of the Basque Country. It will take place on 10-11 October 2023 in the Euskalduna Conference Centre in Bilbao, Spain, with the participation of the following high-level speakers:
- Gotzone Sagardui, Minister of Health of the Basque Government
- Josรฉ Manuel Miรฑones Conde, Minister for Health of Spain
- Stella Kyriakides, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety
- Oliver Rรถpke, President of the European Economic and Social Committee
Rare diseases are conditions that are usually chronic and sometimes disabling or life-threatening. Approximately 7 000 rare diseases have been described, affecting 8% of the EU population (up to 36 million people). They severely undermine people’s health and quality of life and up to 95% of them have no specific treatment or cure options.