https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872820949620 International Social Work 1–5 © The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0020872820949620 journals.sagepub.com/home/isw isw COVID-19 pandemic in Africa: What lessons for social work education and practice? Solomon Amadasun University of Benin, Nigeria Abstract Social work is challenged in Africa, given the colonial heritage of the remedial or casework model. Drawing on the fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic, this article considers how social work could be well positioned to effectively respond to Africa’s social problems. Although recent evidence illustrates that the profession is generally viewed in a positive light among many African people, there are calls for practitioners to be more assertive in responding to Africa’s perennial social problems, aggravated by the current pandemic. Strategies for strengthening the quality of social work education and practice in Africa are explored. Keywords Africa, COVID-19, policy practice, remedial model, social work education, social work practice Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has, undeniably, beam the spotlight on the contentions and inadequacies of social work in Africa. Pointedly, social work is challenged in Africa, given the profession’s colonial heritage in which the casework model has long been the hallmark of and gold-standard for education and practice. According to Amadasun (2020d, 2020f), the preponderance of such an Anglo-American model has rendered many practitioners disempowered and overwhelmed in the face of macro social problems. Although recent evidence illustrates that the profession is generally viewed in a positive light among many African people, there are calls for practitioners to be more assertive – especially in the policy arena – in responding to Africa’s perennial social problems, aggravated by the global pandemic (Amadasun, 2020e, 2020f). This commentary discusses how the social work profession could be well positioned to effectively respond to Africa’s social prob- lems as amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. It begins by briefly examining the fallouts of the pandemic, followed by the nature of social work education and practice in Africa, before proposing what lessons can be drawn for future education and practice. Corresponding author: Solomon Amadasun, Department of Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Benin, Ugbowo Campus, P.M.B. 1154, Benin City, Nigeria. Email: Amadasun.s@yahoo.com 949620ISW 0 0 10.1177/0020872820949620International Social WorkAmadasun research-article 2020 Brief Note