“Social workers are placed at the fault lines of society,” claimed Professor Walter Lorenz, rector of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, at the closing ceremonies of the 2012 Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development last week.
At times of devastating health epidemics, financial crises, natural disasters, or war, we are very often quick to respond to immediate health, housing, and food security needs. Another often neglected area of response is taking into account and addressing the social consequences of these events: identifying those who will raise orphaned children, assessing impacts on mental health and well-being, supporting community cohesion, identifying and strengthening existing social networks that support vulnerable children, and, in general, ensuring a coordinated professional response to the social welfare needs of communities. Read more »
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When we think of health care workers, we tend to think of doctors, nurses, midwives, and the like. We originally developed the iHRIS Suite to track and manage these traditional, well-defined cadres.
Global health workforce challenges have deservedly received much attention in recent years and are being tackled in many positive and innovative ways at the country level. The social welfare workforce (SWW) in many countries is facing similarly complex, yet lesser known, challenges that are beginning to attract additional attention and support.
“She’s 14 years old and HIV-positive. She has been taking ARVs her whole life but no one told her why she was taking medications. She finally confronted the doctors and asked for an explanation as to why she was taking the pills. The doctors answered her questions. She then had something of a crisis and became quite depressed. We have been working with her and we’re very happy because she seems to have recovered. You can see she is back playing with the other children and smiling again.” 
