Mourners in Karachi on Saturday came to pay their last respects to Ruth Pfau, a German physician and nun who devoted her life to the eradication of leprosy.
Mourners in Karachi on Saturday came to pay their last respects to Ruth Pfau, a German physician and nun who devoted her life to the eradication of leprosy.
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Pfau moved to the country in 1960 and founded the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Center (MALC), Pakistan’s first hospital dedicated to treating the disease.
“It is a big loss to this hospital and to humanity,” MALC staff member Yasmeen Morris said. “It is very hard to find a person like her in today’s era. Today, everyone thinks about themselves but she never thought about herself. She led a very simple life and she loved humanity.”
Widely known as Pakistan’s Mother Teresa, Pfau was given a state funeral and eulogised by the prime minister for her contributions to the country. Hundreds of supporters also attended the service at Karachi’s St Patrick’s cathedral.
Leprosy remained a problem in Pakistan until the mid-1990s. Pfau played a key role in efforts to bring the disease under control. She opened branches of the MALC across the country.
Pfau died on August 10, 2017, aged 87.