ERDERA NMG Representatives Met in Riga

ERDERA NMG (National Mirror Group) representatives from 20 different countries came together for the workshop titled “How to Maximize the Power of National Plans for Rare Diseases and Strengthen Their Capacity to Foster Rare Disease Research?” held in Riga, the capital of Latvia, on June 2-3.

The meeting, which was held in a hybrid format, had high participation both face-to-face and online. Among those who attended the meeting on-site on behalf of IBG were NMG Turkey Leader Prof. Dr. Uğur Özbek and ERDERA project manager Eylül Taşkın. In addition, NMG representatives from seven different institutions from Turkey participated in the event online.

The aim of this two-day meeting was to evaluate the current status of national plans (National Plans – NPs) of member countries in the field of rare diseases and their impact on research capacity, to share good practices that will increase the effectiveness of national plans, and to ensure that these plans are made more effective, sustainable and research-focused.

In the case study presentations, Prof. Dr. Uğur Özbek introduced the activities of NMG Turkey and provided information about Turkey’s national plan for rare diseases. We would like to thank the ERDERA Coordination Team for ensuring the successful completion of the meeting and the Children’s University Hospital Latvia team for hosting.