Social Problems In Africa

Despite the recent growth of research on social problems facing the people of sub-Saharan Africa, there remains a critical lack of conceptual, epistemological, and empirical research and documentation. This sophisticated new book attempts to fill that gap by synthesizing, interpreting, and extending the existing literature on conditions that constitute serious impediments to socio-economic development in Africa. It provides an original and up-to-date survey of key problems ranging from poverty and inequality to violence and crime. The contributors, all of whom have lived or worked in Africa, show how social problems emerge, how they are defined, and how various actors attempt to deal with them. This timely book provides a much needed analysis of the major issues and debates regarding the dynamics of social problems in the African context. Social Problems in Africa is broken into four parts. The first introduces readers to the nature of social problems in general and provides a framework for analyzing and understanding social problems in an African context. Part II, on culture, human rights and democracy, examines these crucial aspects of social problems in Africa, as well as issues such as language and colonialism. Part III focuses on poverty and inequality, while conflict and violence is the focus of Part IV. Together, the chapters in this volume provide the most comprehensive and systematic approach to the issues available, bringing much-needed attention to the problems in Africa from the perspective of scholars who have lived and worked there.

This volume comprises of incisive and perceptive essays that analyse social issues in contemporary post-colonial and post-apartheid Africa using cases in three African cities - Durban in South Africa, Gaborone in Botswana, and Kampala in Uganda. It is an outcome of collaboration by colleagues from Universities of Kwazulu-Natal, Makerere, Botswana and Dar es Salaam to establish a structured, collaborative scholarly partnership programme. The partnership is called Rethinking Africa Programme, which is consistent with the 21st century ideals of Africa's renewal. Its key objective is to re-think Africa through academic and research initiatives sensitive to our own experiences as Africans, as well as through a critical revisiting of western-based social sciences in order to build new analytical models and concepts that capture processes and dynamics that derive from African experiences. It thus has as its related aim, to counter the proliferation of texts by western scholars on African social issues which dominate lecture rooms and libraries as teaching and learning resources in African universities. It is hoped that this volume will encourage future partnerships on research and teaching of contemporary African social issues amongst African scholars within the continent. Further, it should serve as a teaching and training resource for academic programmes with strong focus on social issues in Africa today.

This timely collection addresses the full spectrum of social & development issues in Africa, rather than the purely economic. Papers cover: the problem of displacement & refugees; the effects of capitalism on peasant agriculture; the position of woman in the changing social order; employment & labor productivity; and more. (AFRICAN SOCIAL CHALLENGES, 2)

This book is designed to explore the following,challenges and imperatives for African countries,in the twenty-first century: liberalisation of,commercial and industrial activities in a,deliberate effort to make them the preserve of the,private sector, generation of an appropriate,industrial and trade strategy, nurturing,technological development, redressing the debt,burden, curbing industrial strife, protection of,the fragile natural environment, and,reconsideration of the size and functions of,government.

Using a comparative framework, this edited volume evaluates pressing social issues facing African, Latin American, and Caribbean countries. Unique in its comparative and multi-regional perspective, this book provides a scholastic and practical understanding on questions ranging from governance and security to poverty, inequality, and population health.

Encouraged by the emergence and early impact of social innovators on the African Continent, but frustrated by the slow pace of large scale change, this book is focused on filling the knowledge gap for those tackling Africa’s serious social problems. It lays out the required building blocks for achieving scale at impact. By creating clear mission, vision, and values statements and piloting and rolling out business models that are demand-driven, simple, and low-cost, with compelling measurement and evaluation tools that leverage technology. It also explores the steps for attracting and retaining talent and financing and forming strategic partnerships with the private, public and non-profit sectors to foster scaling. Practical case studies provide inspiration for those who seek to become innovators or to be employed by them. Finally, it outlines the crucial steps for key stakeholders to take in order to support the emergence of more social innovators on the African continent, create an enabling environment for the scaling of high-impact initiatives and advance collective efforts to build stronger communities for current and future generations. This is a practical and inspirational guide for all entrepreneurs and individuals that seek to combine business and social goals and for those in the public, private and non-profit sectors that aim to foster and support these projects.