Seoul, Dec 1 (NationPress) The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced on Sunday that it has newly identified 66 rare diseases that will receive government support this year, as reported by officials.
This addition raises the overall count of rare diseases under state oversight to 1,314, a significant increase from 1,248 last year, according to the agency.
With this designation, the medical expenses for patients suffering from rare diseases are lowered to approximately 10 percent of the total costs under the National Health Insurance Service policy, which alleviates the financial burden for conditions that necessitate costly or prolonged treatment.
Rare diseases are classified as ailments affecting less than 20,000 individuals in the nation, or those with an indeterminate number of patients due to diagnostic challenges.
The government annually identifies and announces additional rare diseases eligible for support under the Rare Disease Management Act.
In the previous year, 54,952 new patients with rare diseases were reported.
Additionally, the leader of the global initiative Unitaid, responsible for ensuring affordable treatments for low- and middle-income countries, commended South Korea for its adept handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Unitaid Executive Director Philippe Duneton stated that South Korea provides invaluable insights for the global community in managing future pandemics and ongoing health issues.
"Korea managed the pandemic in the best way in the world," Duneton said in an interview with Yonhap, highlighting the country’s discipline and communication, as well as its collective intelligence and responsibility.
As a significant contributor to Unitaid, South Korea has donated a total of $95 million by the end of 2023 and has been a member of the executive board since its inception.
