Dr Ruth Pfau remembered on fourth death anniversary

LAHORE (92 News) - Dr Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, who devoted more than 55 years of her life to fighting leprosy in Pakistan, is being remembered on her fourth death anniversary on Tuesday.

She was a German–Pakistani Catholic nun of the Society of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, and a physician.

She moved from Germany to Pakistan in 1961.

Her matchless services for humanity, society and Pakistan will forever shine as a golden part of history.

Pfau had been living in Pakistan since 1960, and her leprosy centre in Karachi was Pakistan's first hospital dedicated to treating the disease. She later opened treatment centres across the country.

In 1996, the World Health Organisation declared that leprosy had been controlled in Pakistan, which led Pfau to the more challenging task of eliminating the disease. Last year, the number of patients under treatment for leprosy fell to 531 from over 19,000 in the 1980s.