Saturday August 6th, 2016

Vision

Our vision is achieving the best possible quality of life of patients and families with rare diseases, through best possible social and health services.

Mission

Our mission is developing solutions and politics through implementation of activities for improving quality of life of patients and families with rare diseases. The goal of Life With Challenges is to help and support patients and families that face life with rare diseases. Our mission is realized through the following activities:

• Helping and informing people with rare diseases, creating and sustaining communication between patients
• Raising awareness in society through education about the problems of patients with rare diseases
• Organization of public events, congresses and meetings with a goal to educate and inform
• Support of research and education about rare diseases
• Organization of info centres for people with rare diseases
• Organization of cultural events for raising public awareness
• Distribution and printing of info-materials about rare diseases
• Social rehabilitation for people with rare diseases
• Finding funds for treatment of patients
• Documentation of patients with rare diseases

Important Issues

• Advocating  for patients’ rights ; Raising awareness in society about rare diseases, about physical and psychological consequences.
• Helping and informing people with rare diseases.
• Helping doctors to get information about diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation of rare diseases.
• Communication with other organizations about rare diseases in R. Macedonia and in the world.
• Communication with health institutions in R. Macedonia for better treatment of people with rare diseases.

What are we doing?

• Negotiating with the Ministry of Health
• Informing the President of the Government and the Minister of Finance about the importance of treatment for patients with rare diseases
• Raising awareness to get more support from the people in Macedonia
• Cooperating with the media to raise the level of awareness about our problems
• Cooperating with other patient organizations to act together about important patient issues

The association of citizens for rare diseases Life With Challenges, is founded by patients and parents that face with life with Gaucher. Later in the association joined patients with Hereditary Angioedema, Allagile Syndrome and

The association is representing patients and parents with rare diseases that are members in the association. At the moment there are over 80 diagnoses of rare diseases represented by the association: Gaucher, Phenylkeotnuria, Allagile Syndrome,  Tyrosinemia, Lenox Gastaut Syndrome, Congenital Muscular Distrophy, Muscular Dystrophy Duchene, Muscular Dystrophy Becker,  Congenital Cataract, Epydermolysis Bulosa, Carnitine plamitolitransferase deficiency, Pulmonary Hypertension, Adrenomyeloneuropathy, Williams Syndrome, RET Syndrome, Amyotropihi lateral sclerosis – Lou Gehrig’s diseases, Myasthenia Gravis , Huntington disease, Porphyria, malignant paraganglioma Pheochromocytoma  tumor, arthogryposis multiplex congenital, Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), Multiple myeloma, Myelodysplastic syndrome, MPS 4 – Morqio Syndrome,   Strümpell disease – Hereditary spastic paraplegia, Takayasu arteritis, Primary ciliary dyskinesia, Kartagener type, Mastocytosis, Juvenile dermatomyositis, Friedreich ataxia , Acute intermittent porphyria, Cystinuria, Stargart, Lowe Syndrom, Dextocardia Situs inversus, Heurofibramatozis, Phemgus Vulgaris, Wegener’s Granulomatosis, Addison disease, Ehlers – Danhlos Syndrom, Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, Aspergilosis, Erythrodermia Ichthyosiformis Congenital, Autosomal recessive dopa-responsive dystonia Tyrosine Hydroxylase deficiency, Alport Syndrom, Acute trasverse myelitis, Polimiozitis, Adrenogenital syndrome, Mastocitozis, Burgada Syndrom, Fanconi, Niemann Pick C, Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, West Syndrome, Transverse Myelitis, Retinitis Pigmentosa,  Carney Complex,  Erythrodermia  Ichthyosiformis congenita, Guillain Barreov Sindrom, Malignant Melanoma, Rendu-Osler-Weber disease – hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia(HHT), Systemic vasculitis-Sy.Churg-Strauss, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Barter Syndrome, FAP – Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Amelogenesis Imperfecta, Achondroplasia, Kabuki syndrome, Fibrin-stabilizing factor deficiency,  Hydromielia, Lyme disease, Julien Barre syndrome, Acure lymhoblastic leukemia, usher syndrome tip 2, chromosome 3p duplication, PFAPA syndrome, Raynaud syndrome, Familial mediterranean fever Hydromielia, Lyme disease, Julien Barre syndrome, Acure lymhoblastic leukemia, usher syndrome tip 2, chromosome 3p duplication, PFAPA syndrome, Raynaud syndrome, Familial mediterranean fever …  and others that will join us and ask for help and support.

Some groups of patients have their own associations and we encourage and support other groups to form associations since we think it is important for each disease to have association or at least a support group.

The association also is a member of the National Alliance for Rare Diseases of R. Macedonia (13 organizations representing different rare diseases and patients rights).  The association does not represent rare diseases that are not registered members in the association.

In Macedonia there are other diagnosed rare diseases. From 2015 there is a register for RD at the Ministry of Health – more about that can be found in the program for RD from 2016 –  Programa za lekuvanje na retki bolesti vo R.M. za 2016. (Translation in English will be available soon)