Pakistan’s ‘Mother Teresa’ Dr Ruth Pfau, who has spearheaded an extensive battled against leprosy in the country, was hospitalised in the city on Wednesday, Geo News reported.
Dr Pfau, who founded the National Leprosy Control Programme in Pakistan and heads the Mary Adelaide Society of Pakistan (MASP), was admitted to the Aga Khan Hospital due to age-related health complications. According to MASP CEO Dr Lobo, Dr Pfau, who is now 87 years old, had been unwell for weeks and was admitted to the intensive care unit after her condition continued to deteriorate.
Dr Pfau, a German nun and a member of the Society of Daughters of the Heart of Mary, came to Pakistan in the 1960s and has since dedicated her life to caring for leprosy patients in the country. Her tireless struggle was the main driving force that enabled Pakistan to become in 1996 one of the first countries in Asia to have controlled leprosy.
She was granted Pakistani citizenship in 1988 and remains among the most revered and respected individuals to grace the country. Dr Pfau was also awarded the Hilal-e-Pakistan in 1989 and Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 1979.