KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 4 -- More than 12,000 patients in Malaysia are currently receiving treatment for rare diseases at government hospitals, involving almost 500 different types of conditions, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said.

He said the true measure of a healthcare system's strength and capability was not how well it protected the strongest, but how firmly it upheld the rights of the weakest and most marginalised.

"In South-east Asia alone, it is estimated that more than 45 million people are living with rare diseases.

"In Malaysia, more than 12,000 patients, involving nearly 500 types of rare diseases, are currently receiving treatment at government hospitals," he said in his speech during the launch of the National ...