For 20 years, Saodat Kamalova has been working on ageing issues at the Central Asian Gerontology Centre in Tajikistan as its Director. She has also worked as the Chief Gerontologist at the Ministry of Health in Tajikistan for 12 years, and is a member of the Public Council of the Republic of Tajikistan, which allows her to lobby for the interests of older people at state level within the framework of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing.
Saodat Kamalova is also the author of two multivariate studies on "Ageing population in Tajikistan" (national study - funded by UNECE) and "Study and analysis of issues related to ageing in Tajikistan and identifying their problems" (funded by WHO). She is a member of the working group of the UN European Commission and the international organization HelpAge International.
Saodat Kamalova is the author of more than 10 methodological recommendations for the older people (Don't Worry but Live, Depression - Let's Talk, Living Well is Healthy, We Have the Same Rights, etc.). Within the framework of pilot projects, she was also engaged in establishing self-help groups, gerontological clinics, and training of staff of gerontologists in the State Strategy of Health Development in Tajikistan. She has actively participated in ministerial conferences on ageing in 2007 (Geneva), 2012 (Vienna), 2017 (Portugal), where she made presentations on the state of older people in Tajikistan.
Given the younger population of Tajikistan, raising the profile of ageing in Central Asia takes persistent and dedicated efforts. The Central Asian Gerontological Centre headed by Saodat Kamalova not only promotes research and policy, it also reaches out to support older adults in the area. The charter of the centre aligns with and amplifies the values and goals of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, and Saodat Kamalova’s leadership demonstrates that it is possible to foster healthy ageing and pave the way for maximising the second half of life even in demographic contexts that make it challenging to generate political priority.