Dr. Ruth Pfau, a renowned German doctor and nun remembered as the “Mother Teresa of Pakistan,” is being honoured today on her 8th death anniversary.
She devoted her life to eradicating leprosy in Pakistan and passed away on August 10, 2017, at the age of 87 in Karachi.
Born on September 9, 1929, in Leipzig, Germany, she was the fourth of five daughters. As a teenager during World War II, she narrowly survived Allied bombings that destroyed her home.
In 1948, she escaped from the Soviet-controlled zone to West Germany, where she studied medicine at the University of Mainz and later in Marburg.
After graduating, she joined the Daughters of the Heart of Mary Society. At 29, she arrived in Karachi, and in 1960, she witnessed the suffering of leprosy patients in Pakistan.
Moved by their plight, she chose to dedicate her entire life to their care. She traveled across the country, discovering the lack of medical facilities for such patients.
Raising funds from Germany and Pakistan, she persuaded the government in 1968 to launch a National Leprosy Control Program with the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre (MALC), establishing clinics nationwide.
She was granted Pakistani citizenship in 1988, and a year later, she extended her work to Afghanistan.
Her relentless efforts led to Pakistan being declared leprosy-free by the World Health Organization in 1996. Today, MALC runs 157 centers with over 800 staff members.
Dr. Pfau authored four books in German about her work in Pakistan, including the 1987 publication “To Light a Candle,” in which she expressed her wish to never retire.
Throughout her life, she received numerous honors, including the Order of Merit (1969), Nishan-e-Quaid-i-Azam (1979), Hilal-e-Imtiaz (1989), Hilal-i-Pakistan (1989), Ramon Magsaysay Award (2002), Jinnah Award (2003), an honorary doctorate from Aga Khan University (2004), Marion Doenhoff Prize (2005), and the German Staufer Medal (2015).
She passed away in Karachi on August 10, 2017, leaving behind a legacy of compassion, courage, and service.