| Welcome to Next Africa, a twice-weekly newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it's headed. Sign up here to have it delivered to your email. Ethiopia's decision this week to break with three decades of managing its currency has won it billions of dollars of funding from the International Monetary Fund and other creditors. It may come at a price — at least initially — for the more than 100 million people who live in Africa's second-most populous nation.  A man counts Ethiopian birr banknotes in Addis Ababa, the capital. Photographer: Amanuel Sileshi/Bloomberg Nigeria partially relaxed controls on the naira last year and Egypt did the same with its pound in March, paving the way for it to secure $8 billion of IMF funding. Both countries have since had to contend with rocketing prices and simmering civil unrest. The potential fallout of a weaker currency is "particularly concerning for Ethiopia, where inflation is already high," said Bilal Bassiouni, head of Middle East and North Africa forecasting for Pangea-Risk. "The situation parallels Nigeria's recent experience, where devaluation caused substantial inflation and social unrest due to escalating costs of essential goods." Still, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had little choice. The currency peg, like in Nigeria, had resulted in a critical shortage of foreign exchange, limiting imports of fuel and medicine and preventing businesses from repatriating profits, which resulted in some of them leaving. It also stoked a large gap between official and parallel market rates. The expected funding (Abiy is ultimately hoping for more than $10 billion) includes $3.4 billion over four years from the IMF. That be welcomed by business and investors, and may help it recover from a debt default. But with inflation already at almost 20%, hard times lie ahead for the country's citizens. Abiy will be banking on temporary subsidies on essential imports and financial support for government workers to keep a lid on their unhappiness. — Fasika Tadesse and Antony Sguazzin Key stories and opinion:
IMF Approves $3.4 Billion Funding Program for Ethiopia
Ethiopia Says It Will Float Currency Under Economic Reform Plan
Ethiopia Prioritizes Telecom Sale to Locals Over Foreign Buyers
Devaluation That Threw Lifeline to Egypt Is Now Crashing Prices
Why Nigeria's Currency Slumped and What Happens Next: QuickTake You can follow Bloomberg's reporting on Africa on WhatsApp. Sign up here. TotalEnergies decided not to develop its gas-condensate discoveries in South African waters, a blow to a country that's planning to use more of the fuel for power production. The company exited the Brulpadda and Luiperd finds because it "appeared to be too challenging to economically develop and monetize these gas discoveries." South Africa, which imports all its oil and gas, wants to reduce its dependence on coal to generate electricity. Potential production from the fields was meant to be used for state-owned PetroSA's 45,000 barrel-a-day plant.  A rig used to explore the Brulpadda gas find. Source: TotalEnergies Nigeria's cabinet approved a plan to sell crude to the Dangote refinery in naira to alleviate pressure on the currency and stabilize domestic pump prices. The state oil company will sell 445,000 barrels of oil a day to the facility at a fixed exchange rate that will be reviewed every six months. The African Export-Import Bank and other lenders will facilitate the trade between the refinery and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. The 650,000 barrel-per-day facility is owned by Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest person. Read our explainer on Nigeria's currency woes. East Africa, which is recovering from deadly floods, needs to brace itself for insufficient rainfall over coming months, a new report warns, highlighting the growing threat of climate change for a region that includes some of the world's poorest economies. There's a "high likelihood" of the La Niña weather pattern over East Africa in the final quarter of the year, according to the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre. The phenomenon is associated with below-average rainfall and drought conditions, especially over the Horn of Africa, it said.  People ride on a boat after flash floods in Bujumbura, Burundi, on April 19. Photographer: Tchandrou Nitanga/AFP/Getty Images The American government is backing African production of antiretrovirals as the continent grapples with the world's largest HIV epidemic. The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief program — known as Pepfar — has committed to expand its purchase of ARVs from local suppliers to cover 2 million African patients, according to Stavros Nicolaou of Aspen Pharmacare. The program has saved more than 25 million lives with the more than $110 billion it has provided over the past two decades, and allowed at least 5.5 million children to be born free of the HIV virus that causes AIDS. More than two dozen mercenaries from Russia's Wagner Group and Malian soldiers were killed last week while fighting rebels in northern Mali, the pro-Kremlin African Initiative information portal said. The mercenary group confirmed on its Telegram channel that its forces and troops waged "fierce battles" with insurgents on the northeastern border with Algeria. Wagner has for years acted as a proxy for the Russian government's efforts to bolster its influence in Africa. It was meant to come under direct Kremlin control after founder Yevgeny Prigozhin died last year, but continues to operate semi-independently in some areas.  Wagner fighters near a statue of Prigozhin at his gravesite in St. Petersburg on June 1. Photographer: Artem Priakhin/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images South Africa dispatched crews to contain an oil spill from a cargo vessel that ran aground during a storm earlier this month. Strong waves damaged the hull of the 125-meter MV Ultra Galaxy, which beached northwest of Cape Town. Salvage workers removed several oil drums and about eight tons of marine gas oil from the fuel tanks in the wreck, before weather conditions deteriorated. "All attempts are being made to contain the spill within the immediate area, and cleaning operations will continue," the South African Maritime Safety Authority said. Thank you for your responses to our weekly Next Africa Quiz and congratulations to Mohamed Rezoug Rezoug, Desmond Iguma and Gail Lutz — the first three people who correctly identified South Africa as the nation that appointed its first female chief justice last week. Please watch your email for your three-month Bloomberg.com vouchers. Ethiopia's eurobonds jumped after the central bank announced that it would allow the birr to trade freely and the IMF approved funding. The currency, though, slumped more than 2o% against the dollar. Ethiopia has about $28 billion of external debt and has been seeking to restructure its loans since 2021. Progress was delayed by a two-year civil war in the northern Tigray region that ended in November 2022. Thanks for reading. We'll be back in your inbox with the next edition on Friday. Send any feedback to mcohen21@bloomberg.net | 
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