Social welfare exists as an indispensable aspect of modern social organization because of thenature of man himself. Man is a social being whose very survival as an individual and a speciesdependsuponthecooperationandhelpof other humanbeings. Thisistruefor all people,including those who live in the relatively simple relationships of a tribal or village subsistencesociety. But the processes of development vastly extend the range and multiply the variety ofthese situations of mutual dependency. Thus a developing society can neither survive nor doesadvancewithout includinginits developmental process thecreationof newinstruments ofcooperationandtheadaptationof thosethat alreadyexist tomeet theneedsof achangingsituation. It is against this milieu that these paper discuses the challenges social welfare officersface in frica and indicate how these challenges can be resolved.ccordingtombrosinoet!al "#$$%&, abroaddefinitionof social welfaremayincludeallorganizedsocietal responses that promotethewellbeingof thepopulation. Theseorganizedsocietal responses may be in the area of education, health, housing, protective services for adultsand children, public assistance, social insurance and adoption, among others. It also refers to thefull range of organized activities of public and voluntaryagencies that see' to prevent, alleviateor contributetosolvingselectedset of social problems. The(uestionthereforearises) whobenefits from these welfare incentives* Is it everyone* Beneficiaries of social welfare can varygoing by the above conceptualizations + it can be everyone or ,ust a few.Inspiteofthevariouschangesintheconceptualizationoftheterm, social welfareoriginallyreferred broadly to -a state of social wellbeing, contentment and posterity! "Midgley .//01.2&.Midgley further argues that the concept of social welfare can be defined either in descriptive,(ualitative terms or by using empirical measures. ccordingto himthe bestcontribution has beenmade by socialscientists whohave tried to(uantify it. They have done this by comparing 'ey statistics or indicators which measure socialconditions. Suchindicators wouldincludeincomelevels, unemployment figures, crimerate,infant mortality rate, life expectancy, school enrolments, poverty etc. In this case a country thathas low levels of infant mortality, low levels of unemployment among others can be said to poseshigher degreeofsocial welfareor wellbeingwhilethosewithhighcrimerates, highinfantmortality, high unemployment etc can be said to be having low levels of social welfare.1 | P a g e3oyoo"#$$$&arguesthat a4ountry!ssocial welfaresysteminanchoredinitssocial milieuwhich encompasses among other things1 culture, socio5economic and political organization aswell as the psychological ma'eup of its inhabitants. This is also true for 6sping5nderson as heargues in his -regimes type! "6sping5nderson .///&.The term 7welfare officer7 is used to describe a professional who ensures the safety and well5being of his or her charges and ta'es the best measures for each.welfare wor'er can wor' inseveral different capacities, anddutiesmayvarydependingonthefieldtowhichit applies.8ields that use these types of professionals include education, social services, and labor.Social 9elfare :fficers wor' with people to support them through difficult times and ensure thatvulnerablepeople, includingchildrenandadultsaresafeguardedfromharm. Theirroleistoprovide support to enable service users to help themselves. They maintain professionalrelationships with service users, acting as guides and advocates. They sometimes need to usetheir professional ,udgment to ma'e tough decisions that might not always be well received byall service users.Social 9elfare :fficers wor' in a variety of settings within a framewor' of relevant legislationand procedures, supporting individuals, families and groups within the community. Settings mayinclude the service user;s home or schools, hospitals or the premises of other public sector andvoluntary organisations. Social 9elfare :fficers tend to specialise in supporting either childrenand families or vulnerable adults.It can be a challenging role, occasionally receiving a lot of media attention which is sometimesnegative when things go seriously wrong. s a result of this the government is putting moremeasures in place to support and develop a strong wor'force of social wor'ers. einemann.Midgley, K ".//0&, Social evelopment: evelopment perspectives in Social Welfare,Aondon1Sage publicationMidgley, K "./%.&, Professional imperialism: Social Work in the Third World, Aondon1 >einmann 6ducational Boo's Atd.Morales5Homez, G "ed&, ".///&, Transnational Social Policies: The new evelopment $hallenges of %lobalisation, Aondon1 6arthscan Fublications Atd3oyoo, 3 "#$$$& Social Welfare in !ambia, Ausa'a1 multimedia Fublicatio/n.7 | P a g e