It is estimated that 300 million people in the world live with a rare disease and over 45 million people belong from the South Asia. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) aims to integrate the economics and improve the quality of life of the peoples of its eight member countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka). Only 4 out of 8 member countries have HTA bodies, and there some of the member countries are aiming to implement universal health coverage – which means that there is much work to be done.

Due to lack of resources and appropriate data, the member countries lacked appropriate strategies to address the issues related to rare diseases. In this white paper, Indence’s Tushar Pyne and Ashmita Chatterjee describe the challenges associated with member nations and how HEOR can assist navigating through the issues.