PROCLAMATION from Fred Camillo, First Selectman
WHEREAS, One in every ten Americans has a rare disease and over 300 million people around the world are living with a rare disease; and
WHEREAS, There are over 7,000 identified rare diseases and collectively the number of people living with a rare disease is equivalent to the population of the world’s third largest country; and
WHEREAS, Approximately eighty percent of rare diseases are genetic whilst others are the result of infections (bacterial or viral), allergies and environmental causes or are rare cancers. And noting twenty-five percent of all cancers are rare and every pediatric cancer is rare; and
WHEREAS, Rare diseases currently affect five percent of the worldwide population and are in desperate need of research, funding and patient support; and
WHEREAS, Greenwich and Connecticut based rare disease foundations like the Golden Lights Foundation, Dana’s Angels Research Trust, Hopper-Belmont Foundation, Fibrolamellar Cancer Foundation, National Organization of Rare Disorders Rare Cancer Coalition, Connecticut Rare Action Network and others have taken a leadership role in raising awareness for rare diseases.
NOW, THEREFORE, l, Fred Camillo, FIRST SELECTMAN OF THE TOWN OF GREENWICH, do
hereby proclaim March 10, 2023 as
Rare Disease Awareness Day
in the Town of Greenwich to help raise awareness of rare diseases and encourage our residents to recognize the impact of rare diseases on families within our community and honor those in our community whose lives are currently impacted and whose lives have been shortened by rare diseases.