A University of Oxford professor has joined an organisation working to improve the lives of older people around the world as its new chair of the board of trustees.

HelpAge International has appointed Sarah Harper, Clore Professor of Gerontology at Oxford, to the role.

Professor Harper founded Oxford’s Institute of Population Ageing, which researches the implications of changing populations, and has worked on population ageing for more than 30 years.

She will begin the job in November, replacing Arun Maira, who has served as the chair since 2015.

She said: "I am honoured to have been appointed as the chair of the HelpAge board and look forward to continuing our valuable relationship.

"HelpAge International is at a new juncture of its work.

"With over one billion older adults across the globe, most of them in Asia and Africa, I am looking forward to supporting HelpAge’s commitment to ensuring a world in which all older people can lead dignified, healthy and secure lives, contributing to their families, communities and societies, and have the support they need should they become frail and dependent."

Professor Harper stressed the importance of the voice and contribution of older people, saying by the middle of the century, one fifth of the world's population will be over 60.

She highlighted the majority of older adults live in low and middle-income countries.

Cherian Mathews, CEO at HelpAge International, added: "I am delighted that Sarah has accepted to act as our chair and to lead our work to promote the wellbeing and rights of older people around the world.

"I am in no doubt that her expertise and strategic experience will add huge value to the way we drive our work forward, now and in the future.

"We are incredibly fortunate to have secured the support of such a well-respected expert in the field of global population ageing.

"Sarah has already collaborated with and advised HelpAge on numerous projects and I am in no doubt that her expertise and insights will only make our work stronger."

There has been a long association between HelpAge International and Oxford University, through the work of the Institute of Population Ageing.

For more than 25 years, the institute has provided research evidence for HelpAge in support of its various programmes across the globe.

This has been provided from Oxford’s Global Ageing Survey, the Global Ageing Index, as well as a range of smaller in-country projects.

Most recently, the institute has supported HelpAge’s work on health and climate change, inter-generational relations, and age discrimination.