Enhancing Poverty Reduction Through Community Work in Low-Resourced Areas in Africa

Abstract

Africa faces the severe threat of poverty, inequality, high crime rate, poor governance, and political unrest, not to mention other social problems. Most people in Third World countries continue to grapple with abject poverty resulting in most of them being underfed, underhoused, illiterate, and vulnerable in spite of significant private and public investments in socioeconomic development. To that end, social work has a critical role in contributing to efforts in poverty eradication and creating equitable, fair, and just societies. This chapter argues that community social work is a critical component of the jigsaw in addressing the social ills of Africa. Community social work has its place in ensuring the realization of socioeconomic development goals and objectives which in turn assist in effective harnessing and integrating educational, socioeconomic, and cultural opportunities in underdeveloped areas. Traditional African life is communal in nature, meaning that interventions at a community level are easy to implement. Various models of community work such as community development, community education, social marketing, social action, and social planning have been applied in varying degrees. Most African countries have put in place policies that support community social work.