Islamabad
The 2nd death anniversary of the renowned German doctor, Dr Ruth Pfau, who dedicated her life to eradicating leprosy from Pakistan, was observed on Saturday. A symbol of selflessness Dr. Ruth Katharina Martha Pfau had been hailed as Pakistan’s ‘Mother Teresa’. Dr. Pfau first came to Pakistan when she was 29 years old in 1960. As a part of the Society of Daughters of the Heart of Mary, her devotion to doing something in and for Pakistan took her to become Pakistan’s leprosy fighter. Dr Pfau witnessed leprosy in Pakistan for the first time in 1960 and returned to set up clinics across the country. Dr Pfau rescued disfigured and suffering children who had been confined to caves and cattle pens for years by their parents, who were terrified that they were contagious. She trained Pakistani doctors and attracted foreign donations, founding Pakistan’s National Leprosy Control Program.—APP
