September 14, 2006

The fact that makes MALC’s success story all the more wonderful is that it has been able to control leprosy four years prior to the target set by the WHO and is no longer regarded a public health problem

There is perhaps no better testimony to the general belief that perseverance, dedication and a will to serve make a winning combination, such as the progress of MALC (Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre) through the last half century. Recently celebrating 50 years of its existence, Dr Ruth Pfau, Federal Advisor Leprosy, threw light on the tremendous achievements of the organisation, since its inception in 1956.

The MALC made its modest beginnings in a slum quarter located on McLeod Road where a young Mexican sister, Bernice Vargas (she passed away last year) assisted leprosy patients to build tiny sheds for themselves out of empty fruit crates. In 1960, Vargas was joined by one of her German sisters, Dr Ruth Pfau who had been on her way to India and was so moved by the sight of the Leper Colony as it was known then, that she decided to stay on to serve the leprosy patients here. The doctor became the moving force, converting this small project into a National Leprosy Control Programme, and controlling the spread of the disease.

With the active support of Dr Zarina Fazelbhoy who had access to the Pakistani society, the project not only moved from the slum area into a two-storey hospital, it has established 157 control units all over the country. With the government stepping into the picture, it has become a prime example of the benefits of a public-private partnership, and has expanded its purview to include tuberculosis control in centres all across Pakistan and blindness control in all centres except those in Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas. The recent earthquake disaster also found the MALC team joining in the emergency relief work providing medical services and relief goods to earthquake victims.

What makes MALC’s success story all the more wonderful is the fact that it has been able to control leprosy four years prior to the target set by the WHO as leprosy is no longer regarded a public health problem. New cases are on the decline for the last six years and its patients are no longer shunned but treated as normal patients suffering from a disease.

Dr Pfau shared a moving story with her guests to convey the long distance they have covered, regarding a man suffering from leprosy who had developed gangrene on his foot some thirty tears ago, which needed to be amputated. She recalled “There was not a single hospital that was willing to lend its operation theatre for the surgery. Finally, JPMC gave the doctor its mortuary for the surgery to be carried out there. We’ve come a long way from there, and there is now a dedicated Pakistani team that is working for the eradication of leprosy.”

The programme arranged to celebrate the golden jubilee of MALC was a well-organised one with the venue done up tastefully. It began as their programmes traditionally do ----- which one may add, is a welcome change in a country that is fast forgetting its original objective of honouring all minorities ----- with recitations from the Holy Quran, Bible and Gita.

Hosted by Moin Akhter, who for some odd reason had prepared his text in English although it was obvious the bulk of the audience was not conversant in the language, the programme was a varied one comprising speeches; cake cutting ceremony; skits by Moin Akhter and Anwar Maqsood; awards distribution ceremony and a musical performance by Ali Haider.

One is sure that the MALC team will continue to perform with the dedication it has shown these last 50 years. As Dr Pfau put it, their success has been in not just treating the disease but in treating the patient ----- there is always love involved ----- and as long as the team does not lose sight of that angle, they are bound to remain a success story.

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