EURORDIS Rare Diseases Europe is a non-governmental patient-driven alliance of patient organisations and individuals active in the field of rare diseases, dedicated to improving the quality of life of all people living with rare diseases in Europe.
EURORDIS was founded in 1997 by four patient groups from different therapeutic fields: the Association Française contre les Myopathies (AFM), Vaincre la Mucoviscidose, Ligue nationale contre le Cancer (LNCC), and AIDES Fédération.
Today it is supported by its members and by the Association Française contre les Myopathies, AFM- Téléthon, the European Commission, corporate foundations and the health industry.

EURORDIS advocates for people living with rare diseases, supports patient engagement at EMA, as well as in HTA and ERN activities and provides services to patients such as training, information and networking on all aspects of their condition. This is done through several activities such as the EURORDIS Open Academy, the EURORDIS Membership Meeting, Rare Disease Day and the European Conference for Rare Diseases which are all EURORDIS initiatives as well as providing tailored communication through the eurordis.org website and EURORDIS regular newsletters, webinars and social media.

The EURORDIS Specific Grant Agreement 2019 continues the work of SGA 2018 within the overarching Framework Partnership Agreement 2018-2021. EURORDIS has noted that the Call for SGA 2019 has an envelope of 5M€ vs 5.8M€ in 2018. As there is uncertainty as to the approach that should be taken with respect to this application, we have decided to keep a consistency with the FPA 2018-2021 and as such to include the activities and the budget as these were presented in the FPA. We hope that this approach will give CHAFEA the maximum flexibility to take decisions on the allocation of the OG envelope amongst the FPA 2018-2021 participants.
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Thalassaemia, a previously fatal childhood genetic disease, can today be effectively prevented and appropriately treated, as a result of medical and scientific advances in the last three decades. However, thalassaemia’s prioritisation on national health agendas and the development of national plans for its effective control in the EU has been hampered by the many challenges involved, mainly related to its rarity and migration.

THALassaemia In Action 2019 (THALIA2019) focuses on Europe, targeting patients with thalassaemia and other haemoglobinopathies, healthcare professionals and policymakers and aims to attain four general objectives, based on TIF’s main pillars of activities:

1. Continue and strengthen the education of patients/parents and healthcare professionals, as well as the patients’ capacity, competency and networking within and across countries and regions of Europe. This is to be achieved via the development of e-learning tools and the launching of capacity building courses and training seminars.

2. Raise awareness on thalassaemia and the importance of optimal care amongst the public at large, as well as among THALIA target groups at national and European level. This will be attained using an array of online tools, activities and publications.

3. Prioritise haemoglobin disorders and their control (prevention and management) at European level. This will be accomplished by establishing and training national patients’ associations in EU priority countries, creating an EU Electronic Health Record and entering into policy dialogue with policymakers at national and European level.

4. Support research programmes and studies focused on the clinical management of Thalassaemia. This is to be achieved via the publication of guidelines on the clinical management of Thalassaemia, participating in scientific conferences and providing fellowships to medical specialists.

Knowledge is our power.
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Thalassaemia, a previously fatal childhood genetic disease, can today be effectively prevented and appropriately treated, as a result of medical and scientific advances in the last three decades. However, thalassaemia’s prioritisation on national health agendas and the development of national plans for its effective control in the EU has been hampered by the many challenges involved, mainly related to its rarity and migration.

THALassaemia In Action 2020 (THALIA2020) focuses on Europe, targeting patients with thalassaemia and other haemoglobinopathies, healthcare professionals and policymakers and aims to attain four general objectives, based on TIF’s main pillars of activities:

1. Continue and strengthen the education of patients/parents and healthcare professionals, as well as the patients’ capacity, competency and networking within and across countries and regions of Europe. This is to be achieved via the development of e-learning tools and the launching of capacity building courses and training seminars.

2. Raise awareness on thalassaemia and the importance of optimal care amongst the public at large, as well as among THALIA target groups at national and European level. This will be attained using an array of online tools, activities and publications.

3. Prioritise haemoglobin disorders and their control (prevention and management) at European level. This will be accomplished by establishing and training national patients’ associations in EU priority countries, creating an EU Electronic Health Record and entering into policy dialogue with policymakers at national and European level.

4. Support research programmes and studies focused on the clinical management of Thalassaemia. This is to be achieved via the publication of guidelines on the clinical management of Thalassaemia, participating in scientific conferences and providing fellowships to medical specialists.

Knowledge is our power. Unity is our strength.
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EURORDIS Rare Diseases Europe is a non-governmental patient-driven alliance of patient organisations and individuals active in the field of rare diseases, dedicated to improving the quality of life of all people living with rare diseases in Europe. EURORDIS was founded in 1997 by four patient groups from different therapeutic fields: the Association Française contre les Myopathies (AFM), Vaincre la Mucoviscidose, Ligue nationale contre le Cancer (LNCC), and AIDES Fédération. Today it is supported by its members and by the Association Française contre les Myopathies, AFM- Téléthon, the European Commission, corporate foundations and the health industry.

EURORDIS advocates for people living with rare diseases, supports patient engagement at EMA, as well as in HTA and ERN activities and provides services to patients such as training, information and networking on all aspects of their condition. This is done through several activities such as the EURORDIS Open Academy, the EURORDIS Membership Meeting, the European Conference for Rare Diseases 2020 Stockholm, Rare Disease Day and the European Conference for Rare Diseases which are all EURORDIS initiatives as well as providing tailored communication through the eurordis.org website and EURORDIS regular newsletters, webinars and social media.

The EURORDIS Specific Grant Agreement 2020 continues the work of SGA 2018 and 2019 within the overarching Framework Partnership Agreement 2018-2021. EURORDIS has noted that the envelope of 5M€ has not been increased despite the forecasted costs due to the every second year European Conference on Rare Diseases. As a consequence, we have decided to remove the direct costs of the European Conference for Rare Diseases from this grant. Therefore the amount requested is significantly below the amount indicated for 2020 in the FPA.
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The application for the Specific Grant Agreement 2021 continues the work of EURORDIS - Rare Diseases Europe as described within the Framework Partnership 2018-21.
EURORDIS key operational objectives for 2021 build on the work of the previous work around the 4 overarching objectives:
1 Consolidating the rare disease community
2 Actively engaging RD patient representatives into the effective implementation and monitoring of legislation and strategies
3. Building capacities and empowering members and volunteers
4. Sustaining human, financial and organisational resources
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