Google pays homage to Dr Ruth Pfau on her 90th birthday with doodle

Google is paying tribute to renowned German doctor Dr Ruth Pfau - who dedicated her life to eradicate leprosy from Pakistan -  on her 90th birthday, which falls on September 9 (today).

Google honours prominent personalities and occasions with special logos that it calls 'doodles'. In the past, the US-based tech giant also paid tribute to Pakistan’s prominent personalities, Mehdi Hassan, Nusrat Fateh Ali khan, Abdul Sattar Edhi, Noor Jehan, Nazia Hassan and many others.

A symbol of selflessness Dr.Ruth Katharina Martha Pfau had been hailed as Pakistan’s ‘Mother Teresa’. She first came to Pakistan at the age of 29 in 1960. 

She 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 and the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Center, which has a presence in every Pakistani province.

She received numerous honors for her work, including the Hilal-e-Imtiaz - Pakistan's second highest civilian award - in 1979, the Hilal-e-Pakistan in 1989 and the German Staufer Medal in 2015.

She wrote four books in German about her work in Pakistan, including "To Light A Candle", which has been translated into English.