World Health Day Celebrated at the Zagreb City Zoo

The Zagreb City Zoo marked World Health Day with a special emphasis on raising awareness about rare diseases. On this occasion, the innovative pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Croatia became the sponsor of the grant for the lowland zebra (Equus quagga boehmi), as the zebra is recognized worldwide as a symbol of patients with rare diseases. The initiative was also supported by the Croatian Alliance for Rare Diseases, which aims to raise awareness about rare diseases through its activities.

– Just as zebra stripes help zebras remain hidden from predators and insects, rare diseases remain concealed, presenting themselves as other, more familiar diseases. As a result, medical professionals often have different interpretations of symptoms until it is established that it is a specific rare diagnosis. A large number of rare diseases, between 6,000 and 7,000 different diagnoses, affect about 400 million people worldwide, indicating that they are not actually so rare. Additionally, data shows that patients with rare diseases wait an average of 4.8 years for an accurate diagnosis. Unfortunately, about 50% of those affected by rare diseases are children – explained Nikolina Škaron, Government Affairs and Market Access, AstraZeneca Croatia.

According to professional data, approximately 200,000 patients with rare diseases have been recorded in Croatia.

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Ida Mirković Knaus and Nikolina Škaron

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– The Croatian Institute of Public Health has so far recorded 3,000 patients, while the Croatian Alliance for Rare Diseases currently counts over 1,300 individual members and 34 formal member associations. There is no official registry for rare diseases, which is a significant problem; we do not actually know the real numbers and the true situation – emphasized Ida Mirković Knaus, Secretary of the Croatian Alliance for Rare Diseases, adding that this and similar activities play an important role in raising awareness, educating, and sensitizing society about rare diseases that are so little known.

As part of the event, an art workshop was organized where the youngest visitors to the Zoo had the opportunity to color specially printed postcards featuring zebra motifs with colorful paints to sensitize them from an early age about the importance of breaking down prejudices and creating a more inclusive society.

We are pleased to contribute to raising public awareness about rare diseases and the difficulties faced by citizens suffering from them. We hope that our zebras will encourage discussions among our visitors and other citizens about the importance of breaking down prejudices against those affected by rare diseases. Each zebra has a different pattern of stripes, but that does not diminish their value. On the contrary! It emphasizes their uniqueness – stated Damir Skok, Director of the Zagreb City Zoo.

The project of sponsoring the grant for the lowland zebra at the Zagreb City Zoo as part of the World Health Day celebration is part of an informative-educational initiative by the innovative pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Croatia. The initiative aims to familiarize the wider public with the challenges faced by patients with rare diseases and their families in the process of diagnosis and subsequent treatment. As such, the initiative represents an important step in encouraging society to support the affected and develop new diagnostic and treatment opportunities, as well as ensuring access to healthcare.