Journal of Social Development in Africa

EDITORIAL: Human Rights, the Sustainable Development Goals and Social Work Practice

Tanusha Raniga — 2024-09-09

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International social work as a human rights profession in the global society: Challenges and implications of the Sustainable Development Goals

Michael Boecker — 2024-09-09

This article discusses the importance of international social work in a global society. In an increasingly globalised world, we are interconnected in many ways and interdependent in a complex geopolitical (dis)order. This also applies to those involved in social work as a human rights profession. For a long time, the idea was that social workers had to act solely on a national level and that looking beyond one's own country could be refreshing but was unnecessary. However, we know how important international relationships, networks, and scientific exchanges are today. Geopolitical decisions often affect social work and its target groups at their core. Existential poverty and unemployment in countries of the Global South led to flight and migration to countries of the Global North. Crises such as wars or natural disasters have a wide range of effects on global value chains. The unequal distribution of poverty and wealth leads to asymmetrical power relations, which are not least the legacy of colonial and apartheid influence. This makes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations even more important. If, for example, the first goal in SDG 1 is formulated as "No poverty", then this poses numerous challenges for social work stakeholders in municipalities, states, and nations, to which they must find an answer. These challenge social work on several levels. The following article aims to discuss these challenges at macro-, meso- and micro levels and formulate mandates for action for international social work stakeholders. The aim is to contribute to forming a professional understanding that is defined beyond national structures and mandates.

Transcending boundaries on unequal ground: A critical reimagination of global North-South cooperation on social work practice and the Sustainable Development Goals

Nomusa Munoangira — 2024-09-09

Using collaborative autoethnography, this article encapsulates the rich discourse that unfolded during a symposium titled: "Human Rights, The Sustainable Development Goals and Social Work Practice in Germany and Africa". The symposium was a testament to the collaborative synergy between Fachhochschule Dortmund in Germany, Midlands State University (MSU) in Zimbabwe, the University of Johannesburg, and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in South Africa. This scientific event was an academic convergence where researchers and postgraduate social work students shared research, experiences and insights from the Global North and South, offering a mosaic of perspectives on critical issues. It illuminated shared challenges that transcended geographical boundaries. Poverty, climate change, and social injustice were common but contextually unique across the three countries. In this paper, we employ critical and world systems theories to reflect on the symposium. The discussions and reflections underscore social work's strategic position to inform context-specific anti-poverty, climate change discourse, anti-racism and collaborative efforts to combat economic disparities. This paper encourages the power of sustainable partnerships, dialogue, and shared learning across geographical and socio-economic boundaries. Collaborative efforts between Global North and South universities provide a platform for cross-cultural learning and mutual capacity building amongst postgraduate students.

An autoethnography of disaster response work with low-income communities in KZN: Implications for Afrocentric social work

Bongane Mzinyane — 2024-09-09

The province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, is no stranger to adversities. Between 2020 and 2022, KZN faced overlapping disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic, episodes of looting and catastrophic floods. These disasters had multifaceted consequences for low-income communities. During the disasters, social work academics/practitioners provided psycho-social support to communities while working with a community engagement research centre, the MA’AT Institute, located at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). Adopting an autoethnographic methodology, we provide insights into the experiences of working in low-income communities during disasters. Based on these reflections, we suggest that social workers should often adopt a culturally sensitive approach to disaster response, poverty alleviation and the protection of human rights. We further highlight the complexities of community engagement in disaster-stricken areas when attempting to meet specific goals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as no poverty, zero hunger and climate action. We call for adopting an Afrocentric and culturally responsive approach to strengthen the resilience of low-income communities in the face of disaster-related adversity.

Climate change and vulnerable groups in Zimbabwe: Implications for social work practice

Sunungurayi Charamba — 2024-09-09

Social work is a practical profession that aims to improve problem-solving skills and social functioning, particularly for disadvantaged and marginalised vulnerable groups. The ongoing climate change is worsening the global social work burden since it increases the frequency of occurrence, magnitude, and duration of disaster events such as droughts, heat waves, diseases, tropical cyclones, and floods that negatively impact human beings. Specifically, children, people with disabilities, women, and the elderly are especially vulnerable, as they are often unable to move quickly and may have existing health conditions that make escaping from disasters difficult—meanwhile, the human rights perspective advocates for the inclusivity of all people in the disaster management process. The study used qualitative literature review analysis to explore social work-based strategies for managing the impacts of climate change in Zimbabwe while ensuring the participation of vulnerable groups in co-creating the strategy. The research involved a scoping literature review using African Journals Online, Google Scholar, and ProQuest Central search engines. The study followed specific steps, including formulating the research problem, developing and validating the reviewing protocol, searching for relevant literature using key search terms, screening for inclusion, assessing the relevance, extracting data, analysing and synthesising data, and reporting the findings. Conclusions and recommendations were based on the gaps and inconsistencies identified in the literature review.

The relevance of indigenous knowledge systems in social work education and practice in Zimbabwe: A human rights perspective

Kudzai Mwapaura — 2024-09-09

Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) are central to communities in Africa. They shape, influence, and define the behaviour of societies. Most communities in Zimbabwe have consistently recognised the human rights of individuals. Understanding how IKS can influence social work theory and practice to uphold human rights is important. Human rights are an inherent part of the social work profession. The article explores the views of social work educators in Zimbabwe on the intersection of IKS and human rights in social work education and practice. Data were qualitatively collected from ten purposefully selected social work educators using an instrumental case study design. Evidence from the participants shows four essential aspects, which are, the relevance of indigenous knowledge systems in social work education and practice in Zimbabwe, the role of indigenous knowledge systems in the application of human rights in social work in Zimbabwe, ways to utilise IKS best to uphold human rights; the challenges faced by educators in utilising indigenous knowledge systems in social work in Zimbabwe. The article concludes that IKS upholds human rights perspectives in social work theory and practice. The article recommends that IKS, informed by a human rights perspective, be integrated into social work education and practice in Zimbabwe and practised at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

Social protection, food security and sustaining households during COVID-19: Experiences of single mothers residing in Umkhanyakude, South Africa

Maud Mthembu — 2024-09-09

This study examines the relationship between access to state cash transfers, food security and the sustainability of single-mother households in the rural Umkhanyakude Municipal area in Kwa-Zulu Natal province, South Africa. We explored the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 and cash transfers as a primary contributor to the economic well-being of single mothers from low-income rural communities. We also focus on financial transfers from non-state sources such as non-governmental organisations, kin and non-kin support systems. The sustainable livelihoods framework provides an analytical tool to understand how cash transfers from the state enable single mothers to navigate challenges during the pandemic. Drawing on interviews with 16 women from a rural community in Umkhanyakude, we analyse the distribution of family income to meet household expenses and the survival strategies such as livelihood activities initiated by single mothers to sustain households. The challenges and constraints that limit their livelihood outcomes, such as menial state support and financial constraints to sustain their economic activities are highlighted. Three key themes are discussed in this paper: the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on food security, cash transfers as a strategy for reducing food insecurity, and access to sustainable livelihood activities to reduce food insecurities. This paper contributes to understanding single mothers' roles as actors and beneficiaries of the South African social protection system. It highlights opportunities for various state and non-state agents to advocate and support self-initiated economic activities in single-mother households.

Exploring childhood malnutrition and household food security in Gauteng and Limpopo: Implications for social development processes

Matshidiso Sello — 2024-09-09

This paper provides insight into the relationship between child malnutrition and food security in two South African communities facing economic hardships. The research focused on Thulani, a township in Gauteng province, and Ga Masemola, a rural village in Limpopo province. We conducted 20 in-depth interviews with mothers of children under five years. A key theme distilled from the data was the negative effects of unemployment, limited access to nutritious foods and coping strategies to alleviate food insecurity. The paper emphasises that suspending health and nutrition programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated health inequalities and reversed progress in achieving SDGs 1-3. The paper emphasises the importance of social development processes in addressing childhood malnutrition's root causes. This includes providing services, working collaboratively with communities and development agencies to promote sustainable food systems and nutrition awareness, and connecting families with needed psychosocial support and financial assistance.