Reimagining Social Work’s Priorities in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in Libya: A Developmental Approach

This article explores the alignment between Libya’s post-2014 sustainable development agenda and social work’s priorities in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Using a qualitative approach, the article combines a review/analysis of national policy documents, global SDG frameworks, and narratives from fourteen Libyan social workers. The findings reveal a significant discrepancy: the government prioritizes prosperity-based SDGs, while social workers prioritize dignity-based SDGs. It concludes that sustainable development in fragile states is unattainable without confronting the political structures that systematically marginalize the very people the SDGs aim to help.