South African expert to chair Commonwealth ageing body

GLOBAL ageing leader Femada Shamam pauses mid-sentence to deal with a sudden hot flush, then laughs and continues her vision for the elderly in her new role as Chair of the Commonwealth Association for Ageing (CommonAge).

She takes over this historic and urgent role at a moment when ageing has become a global issue. A time when people are living longer, but social, economic, and health systems are struggling to keep pace.

For more than three decades, Shamam has worked at the fault line between policy and reality, now heading a global organisation that will shape the conversation as the world is forced to rethink ageing. 

During her two-year tenure, she will represent 36 countries and 2.7 billion people across the Commonwealth. Her leadership places South Africa, with its 6.6 million older people, at the centre of global efforts to address the rapidly growing challenges of ageing populations - from healthcare and social protection to dignity, inclusion and rights.

“Being at the table means the decisions made must impact older people in a way that is meaningful for them. It must have value. Not just a nice piece of paper or a tick box,” she says. 

As CEO of Tafta, Shamam has pioneered initiatives that merge grassroots social work with high-level policy advocacy. She speaks passionately about bridging the gap between policymakers and the lived experiences of older citizens. “Care is not only a professional or familial responsibility,” she says, “it’s a societal one.” Often, she notes, policymakers are far removed from reality. “It must mean something for older people.”

This week, she spoke about joy, purpose, technology for the elderly, and the legacy she hopes to leave.

“Older people aren’t here to fade quietly. They are here to give back, to be seen, and to be their authentic selves,” she says. Through CommonAge, she will help shape Commonwealth policy, sharing African models so everyone makes progress and no one is left behind.

Shamam believes that the biggest challenge facing older people is ageism. 

“We discriminate on the basis of age. As soon as we start thinking that a person should not be behaving that way because of their age, that is ageism.” This, she says, strips older people of agency, opportunity, and visibility.

She is often seen interacting with people and at Tafta’s facilities, which house up to 1 900 older persons, residents often tell her they feel free when they move in. “Their entire lives, they take care of others. But when they come here, it’s now about them. They can focus on what they want,” she said. 

Shamam’s philosophy is that the elderly must live a life of joy and purpose. Too often, she says, older people are told to expect loss and limitation. She dismisses that notion, smiling as she recounts how the elderly feel heartache, and fall in love, like younger people. Life, she says, can be divided into three 30-year stages, and the last phase, from age 60 onward, may be the most powerful. “That’s where you get to give back, and be your authentic self.”

Her joy shines through when she talks about the brutal honesty of her “wise counsel",  a group of residents that serves as her sounding board and who pull no punches and challenges her.

Shamam began her career at Tafta in 1999 as a social worker and rose steadily through the ranks to CEO in 2017. Along the way, she bolstered her social work expertise with business acumen, earning a first-class B.Com and Honours degree in Business Management. Under her leadership, Tafta has earned national recognition for innovation in elderly care.

Internationally, she has championed age-friendly policies and the rights of older persons, serving as Vice Chair and now Chair of CommonAge. She contributes to the Global Ageing Network, GAROP, and the International Federation on Ageing, bringing insights from Tafta to shape global conversations and amplify the voices of older people.

She is also excited about technology for the elderly. Through CommonAge, she says technology has become available like an app developed in India  to connect the elderly to each other. “Not a dating app,” she laughs. There’s already been over 4 million downloads, connecting older people to services and community. At a Glasgow conference in 2023, she discovered the Virtual Reality Empathy Platform (VREP), which simulates dementia experiences to build understanding and empathy. She says at Tafta they’ve shared it with their staff by taking them into the “metaverse” and it led to better understanding. “We put on the headset, we go into their world,” she explains. “Suddenly, you see the dragons in the paisley curtains. You understand why Granny is acting the way she does. Everyone comes out changed.”

From policy to VR, Shamam says if the world doesn’t get this right, it will be failing millions. On the personal front, she she hopes to live long enough to see her teenage daughter grow old in a world shaped by the work she does today.

“South Africa may be critical of itself, and we talk endlessly about what’s wrong. But in ageing, we are surprisingly progressive. We have policies, legislation, and now amendments protecting older people. The work we’ve done here can provide hope and lessons for Africa — and the world. We have a platform to learn, to grow, to share. And it starts with being loud, proud, and passionate. That’s the gift of being South African,” she says, smiling, clearly proud of the work being done at home.