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Social welfare exists as an indispensable aspect of modern social organization because of the

nature of man himself. Man is a social being whose very survival as an individual and a species
depends upon the cooperation and help of other human beings. This is true for all people,
including those who live in the relatively simple relationships of a tribal or village subsistence
society. But the processes of development vastly extend the range and multiply the variety of
these situations of mutual dependency. Thus a developing society can neither survive nor does
advance without including in its developmental process the creation of new instruments of
cooperation and the adaptation of those that already exist to meet the needs of a changing
situation. It is against this milieu that these paper discuses the challenges social welfare officers
face in Africa and indicate how these challenges can be resolved.
According to Ambrosino etal (2008), a broad definition of social welfare may include all
organized societal responses that promote the wellbeing of the population. These organized
societal responses may be in the area of education, health, housing, protective services for adults
and children, public assistance, social insurance and adoption, among others. It also refers to the
full range of organized activities of public and voluntary agencies that seek to prevent, alleviate
or contribute to solving selected set of social problems. The question therefore arises; who
benefits from these welfare incentives? Is it everyone? Beneficiaries of social welfare can vary
going by the above conceptualizations it can be everyone or just a few.
Inspite of the various changes in the conceptualization of the term, social welfare originally
referred broadly to a state of social wellbeing, contentment and posterity (Midgley 1995:13).
Midgley further argues that the concept of social welfare can be defined either in descriptive,
qualitative terms or by using empirical measures.
According to him the best contribution has been made by social scientists who have tried to
quantify it. They have done this by comparing key statistics or indicators which measure social
conditions. Such indicators would include income levels, unemployment figures, crime rate,
infant mortality rate, life expectancy, school enrolments, poverty etc. In this case a country that
has low levels of infant mortality, low levels of unemployment among others can be said to poses
higher degree of social welfare or wellbeing while those with high crime rates, high infant
mortality, high unemployment etc can be said to be having low levels of social welfare.
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Noyoo (2000) argues that a Countrys social welfare system in anchored in its social milieu
which encompasses among other things: culture, socio-economic and political organization as
well as the psychological makeup of its inhabitants. This is also true for Esping-Anderson as he
argues in his regimes type (Esping-Anderson 1999).
The term "welfare officer" is used to describe a professional who ensures the safety and wellbeing of his or her charges and takes the best measures for each. A welfare worker can work in
several different capacities, and duties may vary depending on the field to which it applies.
Fields that use these types of professionals include education, social services, and labor.
Social Welfare Officers work with people to support them through difficult times and ensure that
vulnerable people, including children and adults are safeguarded from harm. Their role is to
provide support to enable service users to help themselves. They maintain professional
relationships with service users, acting as guides and advocates. They sometimes need to use
their professional judgment to make tough decisions that might not always be well received by
all service users.
Social Welfare Officers work in a variety of settings within a framework of relevant legislation
and procedures, supporting individuals, families and groups within the community. Settings may
include the service user's home or schools, hospitals or the premises of other public sector and
voluntary organisations. Social Welfare Officers tend to specialise in supporting either children
and families or vulnerable adults.
It can be a challenging role, occasionally receiving a lot of media attention which is sometimes
negative when things go seriously wrong. As a result of this the government is putting more
measures in place to support and develop a strong workforce of social workers. Qualified social
work professionals are sometimes supported by social work assistants. They also work closely
with other professionals in health and social care.
Social Welfare Officers can work in both statutory and non-statutory roles. In a statutory position
a social worker's role is to adhere to the laws that exist to protect the vulnerable clients that they
work with. Social Welfare Officers have a duty to abide by the legislation and a power to enforce
it. In non-statutory roles Social Welfare Officers still work with a similar client group but are not
specifically responsible for enforcing the law. Social Welfare Officers in non-statutory roles are
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often employed in the charity sector or in specialist roles such as providing support for drug and
alcohol users, homeless people and people with mental health issues. They can also be employed
in early intervention roles that aim to prevent the escalation of problems in society to where
statutory services are required.
Firstly, with regard to its structure and functions, social work is an amorphous ill-defined
profession according to Bar-On (1994). It is a homogenous occupational category. As indicated
previously, social workers are employed in wide variety of statutory, voluntary and private
agencies and settings. However, this reality is not generally not well known, particularly in
African context. Furthermore, because social welfare agencies are not properly coordinated and
integrated, this creates a lot of disharmony and conflict.
Secondly, there seems to be a wide spread confusion among social workers themselves about the
direction in which they are or should be moving. There is disagreement about what they should
be doing and how they should be doing it. To a considerable extent, confusion and disagreement
stem from the fact that while performing their tasks, social workers use certain methods and
techniques which are neither readily understandable nor acceptable to other helping professions
and the public at large. Besides, there is little agreement over the type and nature of the
complaints which social workers ought or should be dealing with, given the intractability and
ambiguity that characterise social problems (Midgley, 1981).
In light of the above, it is understandable why the role of social workers is not sufficiently
recognised. The average social worker, especially in the Zambian and African context, lacks
credibility. He/she has yet to demonstrate that he/she is trusted and a helpful friend. The non
recognition of social workers may explain why so many social problems are taken to court,
district commissioners, priests and witchdoctors. Needless to say, the non recognition of social
work tends to discourage and demoralise practitioners as well as those who might be interested
in pursuing career in this field.
Thirdly, social work has failed to effectively articulate its goals, functions and techniques. Hence
the mismatches between the rather distorted public imagery of social work on the one hand, and
its real image on the other. The perception of social work by the media, the public and other
professions, is not only variable but also biased in the way it portrays the professions structure,
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functions and dynamics. To compound the problems, social workers as an occupational grouping,
are not sufficiently united. They have not been able to develop a collective, coherent, vigorous
voice to articulate their role and interests and boot their prestige and status.
Lack of professionally trained social workers is a major constraint on social work in Africa. This
problem can only be partly attributed to inadequate financial support for the social welfare
programmes. Owing to chronic recession, conservative ideologies and misguided policies, many
African governments, like their counterparts in America and Europe, have been advocating
reduced spending on social welfare. There is a widespread belief that investment in social
welfare programmes does not contribute, at least directly, to economic growth and development.
Scarcity of financial resources means inadequate office facilities and supplies (filing cabinets,
stationery, tape recorders, etc) (Kabaso,2012:87). Under such conditions, keeping records and
confidentiality becomes highly problematic. Moreover, shortage of funds means inadequate
transport and communication facilities which in turn implies that home visits cannot be easily or
efficiently made, especially in relation to clients residing in rural areas where the bulk of the
population lives.
There is also a general lack of professional recognition of social workers in Africa. This is due to
the fact that most people do not understand what social work is, even among some government
officials.
Social works is one of the most overworked, underpaid, under recognised and distressed
professions. According to Ankrah (1991) points out, lack of recognition by governments
manifests itself in the lower levels of remuneration and status accorded to social workers
compared to other professionals with similar qualifications. As a result, social workers are very
vulnerable to stress generating situations such as role overloaded, role conflict, roleambiguity, over-responsibility and poor working conditions. These stressors tend to cause
burnout, which refers to the depletion of social workers physical and psychological resources,
mainly associated with desire to achieve, unrealistic expectations and powerlessness. Many
social workers in Africa are finding it difficult to handle work related stress, resulting in
frustration and reduced efficiency.

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To a great extent, the trials and tribulations facing social work today can be blamed on the fact
that the socio-political milieu in African societies in not yet conducive to facilitate radical
reforms and interventions. The main impediment is the political leaders narrow and conservative
conception of the role and function of social work.
Another common challenges experienced by social workers in both rural and peri-urban areas are
the rising number of orphans, breakdown of marriages, large household sizes, social exclusion
and social injustices.
Adams (2002:76) notes that, Africa is a continent with great developmental potential but is still
mired by a myriad of social problems which require social work intervention. Social welfare
officers in Africa need to be proactive rather than reactive when dealing with these problems.
Although the curative or remedial approach which hitherto has been the major form of
intervention is still needed, social officers need to adopt the social development paradigm if they
to effectively confront the various problems currently facing the continent. Social development
leads to an improvement to peoples quality of life. Once people see real changes in their lives
because of social work intervention, they will ultimately respect the profession and value social
work services.
Challenges social officers face can only be resolved and taken seriously as profession in Africa
only if they form strong profession associations in their respective countries which in turn lobby
for their rights with governments. These profession associations will also highlight the need for
increased budget allocations for social welfare sectors by governments as well as improve wages,
salaries and conditions of service for social.
In conclusion, growing nature of social problems, worldwide is increasing and changing the role
of social workers. The paper has discussed these roles as supporting the vulnerable and caring
the less privileged communities. Planning welfare services on a district basis to meet local
community needs; collaborating with District Councils, related Government departments and
district organizations to facilitate the implementation of social welfare policies in the district and
coordinating welfare activities for Non Governmental Organizations.

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References
Adams, R etal (2002) Social Work: Themes, issues and critical debates, New York: Palgrave

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Ambrosino etal (2008), Social Work and Social welfare: An introduction, Belmont CA:
Thomson Brooks/cole
CSO (2002). Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. Lusaka: Civil Society for Poverty Reduction.
Hepworth, D.H etal (2006) Direct Social Work Practice: Theory and Skills, Toronto: Thomson
Brooks/cole
Kabaso M (2012). Social welfare in Zambia in the 21st Century. London: Heinemann.
Midgley, J (1995), Social Development: Development perspectives in Social
Welfare,London:Sage publication
Midgley, J (1981), Professional imperialism: Social Work in the Third World, London:
Heinmann Educational Books Ltd.
Morales-Gomez, D (ed), (1999), Transnational Social Policies: The new Development
Challenges of Globalisation, London: Earthscan Publications Ltd
Noyoo, N (2000) Social Welfare in Zambia, Lusaka: multimedia Publicatio9n.

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