Nation Observes Dr. Ruth Pfau's First Death Anniversary

KARACHI- Earlier this month, Pakistan’s ‘Mother Teresa,’ Dr. Ruth KM Pfau’s first death anniversary was observed in Pakistan.

Dr. Ruth Pfau was born on September 9^th, 1929. She was born in Germany, and practiced medicine. Later on, she moved from Germany to Pakistan in 1960 and devoted more than 50 years of her life fighting Leprosy in Pakistan.

She passed away at the age of 87, on August 10, 2017 at a hospital in Karachi.

In year 1960, Dr. Ruth witnessed the devastation caused by Leprosy in Pakistan and decided to dedicate her life in eradicating this disease and help people afflicted by Leprosy.

Upon travelling to various areas of Pakistan, Dr. Ruth found out that there was no form of medical treatment or health facilities present for patients suffering from leprosy. She then devoted her time in spreading necessary awareness regarding the skin disease and collected funds from Germany and Pakistan to establish a National Leprosy Control Program. In 1968 she managed to convince the Government of Pakistan to start this program, in collaboration with the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Center (MALC) and set up clinics all over the country.

Due to her tireless efforts and courage, Pakistan was declared Leprosy-Free by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1996.

Today, MALC has 157 Leprosy control centers and more than 800 staff members.