TEHRAN — The budget proposed for treatment of rare diseases will rise by 70 percent for the next fiscal year (starting on March 21), Budget and Planning Organization announced in a statement, ISNA news agency reported on Monday. 

The current year’s budget amounted to 2.16 trillion rials (nearly $51.5 million) which will increase to 3.66 trillion rials (nearly $87 million) for the next year, according to the statement. 

Health Ministry spokesperson Iraj Harirchi said in mid-December that according to the budget bill proposed for the next fiscal year, 350 trillion rials (about $8.3 billion) will be allocated to the health sector. 

President Hassan Rouhani presented the administration’s draft of the national budget bill for the next year in late December. The proposed bill amounts to 17.03 quadrillion rials (about $405 billion at the official rate of 42,000 rials).

MQ/MG