German-born nun devoted to ending leprosy in Pakistan dies aged 87

Record ID: 905953

  • Title: German-born nun devoted to ending leprosy in Pakistan dies aged 87
  • Date: 10th August 2017
  • Summary: DOOR OF RUTH PFAU'S ROOM PLATE ON DOOR READING (English): "DR PFAU" BED IN PFAU'S ROOM VARIOUS OF SHELF WITH BOOKS AND PFAU'S PHOTO PFAU'S DESK BED IN PFAU'S ROOM VARIOUS OF LEPROSY PATIENTS LYING ON HOSPITAL BEDS BANDAGED FEET OF ONE OF PATIENTS RESOURCE MOBILISATION MANAGER AT MARIE ADELAIDE LEPROSY CENTRE (MALC), SARWAR ANAM, WORKING IN OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (English) RESOURCE MOBILISATION MANAGER AT MARIE ADELAIDE LEPROSY CENTRE (MALC), SARWAR ANAM, SAYING: "It’s a huge loss. She was known to her patients as mother, Amma (mother). Because they are shunned by their own relatives if we talk about leprosy patients. The stigma is such that people don't take them as family members because of the deformity and because of the nature of the disease. So, she was mother to many. So, I would say that today 50,000 people whose lives had been touched by her have lost their mother today." EXTERIOR OF PRIVATE HOSPITAL WHERE RUTH PFAU DIED
  • Embargoed: 24th August 2017 16:44
  • Keywords: German nun in Pakistan Ruth Pfau dies Pakistan's Mother Theresa leprosy in Pakistan
  • Location: KARACHI, PAKISTAN
  • City: KARACHI, PAKISTAN
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA0056TKQR7R
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING
    German-born nun Ruth Pfau, who devoted her life to eradicating leprosy in Pakistan, died at the age of 87 on Thursday (August 10) in the southern city of Karachi, a hospital official said.
    Widely known as Pakistan's Mother Teresa, Pfau was eulogised by the prime minister and army chief for her contributions towards freeing the country of a contagious disease that can cause disfigurement.
    Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi announced a state funeral would be held on August 19 in recognition of her services.
    Born in 1929, Dr. Ruth Katharina Martha Pfau had been living in Pakistan since 1960 where she founded the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre (MALC) in Karachi, Pakistan's first hospital dedicated to treating the disease, and opened branches across the country.
    Last year, the number of patients under treatment for leprosy fell to 531 from 19,398 in the 1980s, the Dawn newspaper said.
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