No sick should feel forgotten-Mattarella (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, February 28 - President Sergio Mattarella said Tuesday that all sick people should feel they have support as he gave a speech to mark world rare disease day. "No ill people anywhere should feel invisible or forgotten, especially in our republic," Mattarella said. "A society's civilization is measured by how it addresses the problems of those who are most fragile and this is its true strength too. Patients with rare diseases are more vulnerable than others". Mattarella added that it is a Constitutional obligation to help sufferers of rare diseases.
    "Our Constitution protects health as a fundamental right of every person and an interest for the whole collectivity," Mattarella said.
    "It is a full right that cannot be compressed and concerns the dignity and freedom of each person. "The challenge of less well-known illnesses and limited public resources cannot exempt us from trying to fully respect the Charter". Mattarella called for "a choral effort" to cure rare diseases involving dialogue between research institutes and pharmaceutical companies. The head of State stressed that rare diseases were not "a separate health chapter".