Ruth Pfau being remembered on her third death anniversary

KARACHI: The third death anniversary of Dr Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, who devoted more than 55 years of her life to fighting leprosy in Pakistan, is being observed on Monday.

Ruth Pfau was a German-Pakistani Catholic nun and a physician. She moved from Germany to Pakistan in 1961 and devoted more than 55 years of her life to fighting leprosy in Pakistan.

Ruth Pfau was honoured with the Hilal-i-Pakistan, Hilal-i-Imtiaz-, Nishan-i-Quaid-i-Azam and the Sitara-i-Quaid-i-Azam award. She contributed to the establishment of 157 leprosy clinics across Pakistan that treated over 56,780 people.

In 1960, Ruth Pfau arrived in Karachi and traveled to various parts of Pakistan and decided to dedicate the rest of her life to the people of the country and their battle against leprosy outbreaks.

She visited the Lepers Colony behind McLeod Road (now I.I. Chundrigar Road) near City Railway Station where she decided caring for patients was her life’s calling and started medical treatment for leprosy patients setting up the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre.

In recognition of her service to the country, she was awarded Pakistani citizenship in 1988. Due to her continued efforts, in 1996 the World Health Organization declared Pakistan one of the first countries in Asia to have controlled leprosy.

Ruth Pfau passed away on 10th August 2017 in Karachi from respiratory problems and was awarded a state funeral. On 19th September 2017, Pfau’s body lay in state at the Holy Family Hospital in Karachi ahead of the funeral. The state funeral for Pfau was held at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral presided by Archbishop Joseph Coutts.

The Pakistani flag was draped over her coffin and a 19-gun salute was offered by contingents of all three wings of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Pfau was the first Christian and first non-Muslim to have a state funeral in Pakistan. She was then buried at Gora Qabaristan, a Christian cemetery in Karachi.

In 2018, Pfau’s private residence in Karachi was converted into a museum to showcase some of her personal possessions. On 19th August 2017, the Civil Hospital Karachi was renamed to Dr Ruth Pfau Hospital as an acknowledgment of selfless services.