African Currents

Thick coastal fog rolled off the Sea of Okhotsk as the South African adventurer cut his truck’s engine in Magadan, capping an odyssey through mountain passes, permafrost plains, and isolated Siberian outposts.

Millions of Africans could benefit from stronger livelihoods, food security, and new economic opportunities if the continent puts the restoration of its marine ecosystems at the center of ocean development.

A new book has placed the International Monetary Fund’s record in Africa under scrutiny, examining how loan conditionalities, austerity measures, currency reforms, privatization, and other structural adjustment programs have affected national economies and public services.

As endangered African languages lose speakers, communities and researchers are turning to digital tools to document languages that may otherwise disappear from everyday use. In South Africa, efforts to preserve N|uu have produced audio recordings, a dictionary and digital resources, complementing community-led attempts to revive the language.

A new report warns that Nigeria’s 2027 general election could be the country’s first election contested in an era of widespread access to generative artificial intelligence tools, with fabricated audio, video, and images potentially spreading rapidly through private and encrypted digital channels.

President Bola Tinubu has approved the creation of four new Nigerian Army divisions and the recruitment of 28,000 additional personnel, expanding the service’s divisional structure from eight to 12.

President Bola Tinubu will secure a permanent seat for Nigeria on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Nigeria's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, said recently, citing Nigeria's sustained advocacy for reforms that would give Africa a permanent voice on the council.

The globe's richest individuals have built fortunes through stakes in and ownership of highly polluting assets while African communities with far fewer resources face the growing consequences of climate change, according to a recent report that estimates extreme wealth is linked to almost $1 trillion in annual investment-related climate debt.

In African households and office spaces, a broken laptop or a dead refrigerator usually gets abandoned rather than repaired. One entrepreneur built a national recycling movement out of that very habit, turning Kenya's waste disposal culture into a livelihood for himself and hundreds of others.

For decades, Africa’s health progress has depended heavily on external support, particularly in the fight against HIV/AIDS and efforts to strengthen health security. Experts are urging governments to mobilize domestic resources to build resilient health systems and drive growth in science, education, and innovation.