ORDI urges to raise awareness for Rare Diseases Warriors

Bengaluru: The Organisation for Rare Diseases India (ORDI) hosted its eighth edition of Racefor7 on Sunday to raise awareness about the rare diseases in India. The event was flagged off by Pramod Nayak, Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Kempe Gowda International Airport, Bengaluru. More than 2800 participants joined the run/walk/bicycle to support the rare diseases cause at the St. Joseph's High School Ground.

Team ORDI works to connect rare disease patients, policy makers, medical fraternity, and Health Care Industry through various initiatives to sensitise the public at large to acknowledge rare diseases. A major initiative in this regard is our Annual Awareness Run – RACEFOR7. Racefor7 is an awareness run organised by ORDI in line with World Rare Diseases Day. Racefor7 symbolically represents the 7000 rare diseases.

Every year ORDI organises Racefor7, the largest and longest rare disease awareness campaign in India with the support from various Patient Support Groups, Clinical Research, Pharmaceutical, Diagnostic Support Companies, Physicians, Hospitals, Volunteers and Runners with an objective to raise awareness among Public, Health Care Providers, Policymakers, Patient Organisations and other stakeholders. As part of Racefor7, short marathons/walk/bicycle of approx. 7 KM are organised across multiple cities in India spread across February and March to significantly boosts awareness and education on the rare diseases. Speaking at the inauguration, Pramod Nayak, Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru appealed the public to support ORDI`s initiatives and expressed his solidarity towards Rare Diseases Community. Speaking about the event, Prasanna Kumar Shirol, Co-founder and Executive Director of ORDI, thanked Pramod Nayak, Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Kempe Gowda International Airport, Bengaluru for flagging off the event and for the support towards Rare Disease community. He said "It is inspiring to see so many people come out to support the cause of rare diseases. The Rare Diseases community extends its heartfelt appreciation to all the participants."

"Racefor7 is conceptualised and developed to raise awareness and build an annual Program to engage all the stakeholders concerned with Rare and Genetic Disorders. The 8th Edition focuses on access to treatments and building quality of life for 70 million people affected with Rare Diseases. "