Steve Waugh urges Aussies to acknowledge International Rare Disease Day

Former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh wants everyone to know that Australia is not the lucky country for everyone, and is urging people to acknowledge international Rare Disease Day tomorrow.

"It's ridiculous to think that the situation exists in a country like Australia where oxygen is not catered for," Waugh said.

He was speaking of the predicament of 18-year-old Renee Eliades, who has geleophysic dysplasia, a form of dwarfism that affects one in a million people, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The Steve Waugh Foundation is supporting children with nowhere else to turn, and has provided Eliades with the bottled oxygen she requires to stay alive.

Waugh has brought together several charities that represent rare illnesses to present their message at the Sydney Opera House.

Logie award-winning actress Georgie Parker will join Waugh.

As a teenager Parker was forced to wear a brace because of the spinal condition scoliosis.

Parker provided some insight into the frustrations patients endure.