The Coronavirus Crisis and Challenges to Social Development (eBook)

This book is a novel contribution to academic discourses on the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis and how it has impacted societies globally. It proffers an overview on the social development and political measures, from both the Global North and Global South, to prevent COVID-19's spread. It illuminates major social, political and economic challenges that already existed in different contexts and which are also currently being amplified by COVID-19. Curiously, this global pandemic has opened spaces for different actors, across the globe, to begin to fundamentally question and challenge the hegemony of the Global North, which sometimes is evident in social work. Linked to the foregoing and while reflecting beyond the pandemic and into the future, the book proposes that social work must become more political at all levels, and strive to transform societies, global social development efforts, and economic and health systems. 

This contributed volume of 38 chapters discusses and analyses ethical, social, sociological, social work and social development issues that complement and enrich available literature in the socio-political, economics, public health, medical ethics and political science. It provides various case studies which should enable readers to gain insights into how countries have responded to the pandemic and learn how COVID-19 negatively impacted countries in different parts of the world. This book also provides a platform for the articulation of neglected and marginalized voices, such as those of indigenous populations, the poor, or oppressed. The chapters are grouped according to three main themes as they relate to research on the COVID-19 pandemic and social work in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America:

• Analysis: Social Issues and the COVID-19 Pandemic 
• Strategies and Responses in Social Work: Globally and Locally
• Outlook: Looking Ahead Beyond the Pandemic

Intended to engage a global, diverse and interdisciplinary audience, The Coronavirus Crisis and Challenges to Social Development is a timely and relevant resource for academics, students and researchers in inter alia Social Work, Philosophy, Sociology, Economics, and Development Studies.

Maria do Carmo dos Santos Gonçalves is director and researcher at the Scalabrinian Center for Migratory Studies in Brazil. She has a long experience in the field of social work in Brazil, working in the care of migrants and refugees. Her research interests include biographical and ethnographic narrative research, studies on contemporary diasporas, migration and refugees, the Middle East and Islam.

Rebecca Gutwald is a senior researcher at the Munich School of Philosophy, Germany, in a collaborative research project on the ethical use of algorithms in social work and child protection services. Previously, she was academic director of the graduate school on Ethics, Culture and Education at the Munich School of Philosophy, as well as associate professor of philosophy at the University of Munich, Germany. Her main areas of research are political philosophy, the capability approach and the normative foundations of social justice. Her current focus lies on the topic of disadvantage, resilience and global social justice.

Tanja Kleibl is currently Professor for Social Work, Migration and Diversity at the University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (FHWS), Germany, and Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. She is also Director of the Master's Programme 'International Social Work with Refugees and Migrants'. Previously, she was Professor for Scientific Foundations of Social Work at the University of Applied Sciences Augsburg and Associate Professor for Social Work at the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Munich. Her main research and teaching promotes knowledge and debate about discourses and concepts of development, migration and mobility, civil society as well as governance from postcolonial perspectives. Her emphasis is on social development and social work in the Global South whilst applying a political economy lens to enquiring about differences and contestations in the Global North. She brings together 15 years of extensive practice and research experience in development cooperation and migration.

Ronald Lutz, Dr. phil. Sociologist and Anthropologist, is Lecturer at University of Applied Sciences of Würzburg-Schweinfurt, Germany; Lecturer at University of Applied Sciences of Erfurt, Germany; and Research Associate at the School of Social Work, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. From 1993 to March 2019, he was Professor at the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences at the Erfurt University of Applied Sciences, Germany. His fields of interest include poverty, social politics, social development, and international relations.

Ndangwa Noyoo is an Professor and former Head of the Department of Social Development at the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa. He is also Director of the Zola Skweyiya African Social Policy Innovation (ZSASPI) at UCT. Previously, he worked at the University of Johannesburg in the Department of Social Work as a Professor. He was also employed by the South African Government in the Department of Social Development as a Chief Director / Social Policy Specialist, and the University of the Witwatersrand's Department of Social Work as a Senior Lecturer and Deputy Head of Department. 

Janestic Twikirize is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, Makerere University, Uganda. She holds a PhD in Social Work and Social Development and an MA in Social Sector Planning and Management. She has also served as a visiting Lecturer at Gothenburg University in Sweden, University of Stavanger in Norway and Lincoln University in the UK.  She has published over 20 scientific papers including four books, and has made over 30 presentations in International conferences in the past 5 years.  She was previously Vice President of the Association of Schools of Social Work in Africa and a Board member of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) until 2018. Between 2012 and 2018, she served as the East Africa regional Coordinator of PROSOWO, a 6-member advanced academic partnership that worked to strengthen professional social work in East Africa.