Civil Hospital Karachi to be renamed after Dr Ruth Pfau: CM Sindh

Dr Pfau was a symbol of pride for this province and for all of Pakistan, says Murad Ali Shah

Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah ordered, on Saturday, the renaming of Karachi’s Civil Hospital after Dr Ruth Pfau, following the state funeral given to the German-Pakistani doctor .

Dr Ruth Pfau, fondly dubbed 'Pakistan's magic healer', was 29-years-old when she arrived in Karachi, in 1960. A single visit to the leprosy patients’ colony on McLeod Road, Karachi (currently I I Chundrigar Road), was all it took for her to dedicate her life to helping leprosy patients in Pakistan.

The leprosy centre built by Pfau, the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre, an eight-storey building, started off as a small clinic in 1963 where Dr Pfau started the initiative of treating leprosy patients. Since its inception, 56 years ago, the centre has been serving leprosy patients and has treated over 50,000 families.

“Dr Pfau was a symbol of pride for this province and for all of Pakistan,” said the CM Sindh while announcing the renaming. He further directed chief secretary Sindh to release the notification after making the announcement.



President Mamnoon Hussain, CM Sindh and Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair were in attendance along with officials from the German Consulate in Karachi.

Dr Pfau was awarded the Hilal-e-Pakistan in 1989 and Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 1979 by the government of Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Dr Pfau passed away on August 10, 2017, at the age of 87 in Karachi and was laid to rest in Gora Qabaristan following a state funeral held on Saturday amid high security.