The persistency of poverty and inequality with its concomitant social, economic and political consequences, continue to shape development discourse globally. Development social work is emerging as a new paradigm in social work internationally that seeks to infuse social developmental theory and practice into social work processes. This course will provide insight into the history, country specific conditions, social policies, programs and the evolving theory and practice of development social work in a changing regional and global context. Case illustrations will be drawn from fourteen countries in the Southern Africa region which include some of the poorest countries in the world such as Mozambique and Zambia, as well as South Africa, Botswana and Mauritius which are emerging economies and welfare systems. Although these countries have a shared history of colonialism and its impact on social welfare, they are rather different in their levels of economic, social, institutional and political development, all of which have a bearing on their responses to the social challenges facing them. The first part of the course will focus on a comparative analysis of selected countries to identify current trends and drivers that shape macro social development practice. Part two of the course examines the direction, nature and scope of social work practice in these countries with particular reference to South Africa and Kenya. Innovation in developmental social work practice is the focus of part three and will include social work and cash transfers; community based development strategies to address the needs of children, youth and women; responses to HIV and AIDS; and interventions that combine social and economic development. In the last part of the course we turn to the question as to how relevant the Southern African experience is for social work in a developed country such as the United States.