KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Ruth Pfau, a German physician and nun who devoted her life to the eradication of leprosy in Pakistan, has died at age 87.

In a statement, the office of Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi announced a state funeral for Pfau, known as "Pakistan's Mother Teresa."

Salwa Zainab, a spokeswoman at Pfau's office, said Friday a funeral service will be held Aug. 19 in Karachi, where Pfau died on Thursday.

She said leprosy remained a problem in Pakistan from the 1950s until about 1996 and that Pfau played a key role in efforts by Pakistan and the World Health Organization to bring the disease under control.

Zainab said Pfau was a "beacon of hope for underprivileged" people.