This handbook aims to address a significant scholarly and practical gap in understanding the discourse and dynamics of social policy within diverse African contexts. Going beyond traditional approaches to social policy analysis, it offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary examination of how social policies are conceptualised, designed, implemented, and evaluated across the African continent. This handbook features carefully selected contributions from leading African scholars, emerging researchers, and experienced practitioners alongside relevant global expertise to ensure that African scholarly voices are central to the analysis, while creating meaningful dialogue with international frameworks and experiences. By integrating empirical evidence and examining its practical implications, this book situates historical development and contemporary challenges within emerging post-2030 sustainability paradigms. It will be of interest to academics, practitioners, policymakers, and students across social policy, sociology, development studies, public health, public administration, education, environmental studies, governance, and political science, among others.

Clement Chipenda is a Research Fellow in the University of South Africa's College of Graduate Studies, where he contributes his expertise to the SARChI Chair in Social Policy. His research interests span social policy, agrarian political economy, agro-food systems, children’s rights and child protection, social security, urban and rural sociology, as well as youth and gender studies.

Emmanuel Ndhlovu is a Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. His research interests cover a wide range of topics, including agrarian political economy, food systems, food security, land reform, agriculture and agribusiness, and social policy.

Tom Tom is a Senior Lecturer and Chairperson in the Department of Development Studies, Faculty of Applied Social Sciences at the Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe. He is also a Research Fellow with the SARChI Chair in Social Policy at the University of South Africa. His expertise spans social policy, political economy, agrarian studies, and development.