MIL Africa Engine

Source: APO – Report:

.

In a landmark moment for global health and human rights, the United Nations Human Rights Council today adopted the first-ever resolution that formally recognizes the profound and inseparable links between human rights and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

The historic resolution was led by the Republic of Malawi, alongside a core group of African Member States including Burkina Faso, Kenya, Tanzania, The Gambia and Morocco. It marks the first time NTDs have been formally addressed through a dedicated Human Rights Council resolution – elevating these diseases beyond the health sector and recognizing them as issues of dignity, equity, inclusion, and justice. The adoption represents a major milestone in the global fight against NTDs and a powerful acknowledgment that the more than one billion people affected by these diseases can no longer be left behind.

NTDs are both caused by and drive human rights challenges. Poverty, unsafe water, inadequate housing, poor sanitation, discrimination, and limited access to healthcare create the conditions in which NTDs thrive. In turn, these diseases can cause disability, disfigurement, stigma, exclusion from education and employment, lost income, and preventable death – trapping individuals and communities in cycles of inequality and marginalization.

By adopting this resolution, the UN Human Rights Council has formally recognized that advancing human rights and ending NTDs are deeply interconnected goals.The resolution is expected to help elevate NTDs within global and national policy agendas, strengthen accountability, reinforce the links between health and human rights, and mobilize greater political will and resources to accelerate progress towards elimination.

The adoption comes amid growing global momentum behind NTD elimination. To date, 63 countries worldwide have eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease, demonstrating that sustained political commitment, investment, and partnership can drive transformative progress.

Africa continues to lead global efforts to end these diseases. Malawi itself eliminated trachoma as a public health problem in 2022, alongside previous elimination achievements for lymphatic filariasis and leprosy as public health concerns, while continuing efforts to eliminate additional NTDs by 2030.

Said H.E. Madalitso Chidumu Baloyi, Minister of Health, Republic of Malawi, “Today marks a historic victory for the millions of people affected by neglected tropical diseases around the world. Africa has borne a disproportionate burden of these diseases for generations, and African countries have also been leaders in the fight to eliminate them – driving innovation, progress, and political commitment. Malawi is proud to have helped lead this landmark resolution alongside our fellow African Member States. By formally recognizing the links between NTDs and human rights, the Human Rights Council has affirmed that no person should be denied dignity, opportunity, health, or inclusion because of a preventable and treatable disease.”

Said Stuart Halford, Director of Advocacy and Resource Mobilisation, Uniting to Combat NTDs, “We commend Malawi and the other African Member States whose leadership made this historic resolution possible. Africa has also driven some of the world’s greatest progress against NTDs, demonstrating what is possible through political commitment, partnership, and sustained investment. By recognizing NTDs as both a health and human rights issue, the Human Rights Council has taken an important step towards accelerating progress against these diseases and improving the lives and rights of millions of people worldwide. We now have an opportunity to build on this momentum and ensure that human rights considerations are fully integrated into efforts to end NTDs once and for all.”

Said Juan Gamboa, CEO, Anesvad Foundation: “We celebrate the approval of this resolution, particularly at this critical moment in a global fight against NTDs. The elimination of NTDs is a fundamental right of millions of people. Political will and financial commitments are needed to ensure that we can eliminate NTDs during our generation.  We note this significant step and recognize the journey ahead.  Malawi’s exemplary leadership through this resolution will help shape national policies, legal frameworks and adequate budget allocations to ensure the elimination of NTDs globally.”

Advocates say the resolution has the potential to catalyze stronger cross-sector action on the underlying conditions that allow NTDs to persist, including inadequate healthcare access, unsafe water and sanitation, poor housing, educational inequities, and stigma and discrimination.

Supporters also describe the resolution as a critical shift in how the world understands NTDs – not only as diseases requiring medical intervention, but as barriers to equality, opportunity, and the realization of fundamental human rights.

The adoption sends a strong signal that ending NTDs is not only a public health imperative, but also a human rights imperative. A key ask of the resolution is for Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to conduct a consultation analysing the links between human rights and NTDs and providing recommendations for strengthening the integration of human rights considerations into national and global responses to NTDs across the United Nations system. While the resolution marks a historic milestone, its true impact will be measured by the actions that follow. The forthcoming OHCHR consultation and report will lay the foundation for a stronger human rights framework on NTDs, providing recommendations to governments, UN agencies, and partners that can help shape a new era of more equitable, accountable, and effective action against these diseases.

– on behalf of Anesvad Foundation.

Media Contacts:
Fernando Álvarez
Anesvad Foundation
fernandoalvarez@anesvad.org

Additional Statements:
Alia El-Yassir, Director, Department for Gender, Rights, Equity and Sexual Misconduct Prevention (GEM), WHO

“WHO welcomes this landmark resolution as an important recognition that neglected tropical diseases are both a public health and a human rights challenge. The resolution creates an opportunity to strengthen rights-based, equity-oriented and people-centred action that tackles the underlying drivers of NTDs, including poverty, inequality, stigma and barriers to essential services, while addressing their disproportionate impacts on women and girls.”

Dr Joo-Young Lee, member of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

“I welcome the adoption of the resolution on Human Rights and Neglected Diseases by the Human Rights Council on X July. Neglected tropical diseases affect more than one billion people, disproportionately those living in poverty, marginalization and vulnerability, and this resolution reaffirms that these diseases are not only a public health concern but also a matter of human rights. Addressing neglected tropical diseases is not only about realising the right to health. It is also about ensuring the rights to safe water, sanitation, adequate housing, education and access to information, all of which are essential to their prevention and control. The right to health further requires the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of essential medicines and other health products, integrated into universal health coverage and primary health care. Nearly two decades ago, the human rights dimensions of neglected diseases were first documented for this Council. The fact that research and development for these diseases remains persistently underfunded shows that this human rights challenge has yet to be overcome. This resolution reaffirms States’ obligations to ground national health policies and programmes in equality, non-discrimination, participation and accountability, ensuring equitable access to prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for all. It must now be translated into concrete action, beginning with the OHCHR report that the resolution mandates.”

Source: APO – Report:

The in-country launch of Caribbean Energy Week 2027 will take place on July 20, 2026 at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Georgetown, bringing together government officials, investors, operators and industry stakeholders to highlight the strategic opportunities shaping the region’s energy future.

Held under the patronage of President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali and with the endorsement of the Honorable Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, the launch will underscore Guyana’s central role in driving regional energy development and advancing the Caribbean’s position as an emerging global energy hub. The event will also be supported by the Guyana Office for Investment, reflecting the country’s continued focus on attracting international capital and strengthening its investment pipeline.

The launch event will provide an early platform to outline the priorities for Caribbean Energy Week 2027, including upstream expansion, LNG development, infrastructure build-out and regional energy integration. It will also highlight the growing importance of cross-border collaboration as Caribbean states work to unlock shared resources and improve coordination across oil and gas value chains.

Guyana continues to anchor regional growth, with offshore production from the ExxonMobil-operated Stabroek Block averaging close to one million barrels per day in 2026 and expected to increase further as new developments come online. The continued expansion of upstream capacity, alongside ongoing exploration activity and FPSO deployments, has reinforced the country’s position as the region’s leading oil producer and a key driver of investment momentum.

Across the wider Caribbean, Suriname is advancing its offshore development agenda, led by TotalEnergies’ GranMorgu project and a growing pipeline of exploration activity. In Trinidad and Tobago, efforts are focused on revitalizing mature gas production while expanding LNG and petrochemical capacity, with renewed attention on upstream partnerships and regional gas monetization opportunities.

Building on this foundation, Caribbean Energy Week 2027 is expected to further expand its reach and impact, offering a dedicated platform for project announcements, investment facilitation and strategic partnerships. As global demand for secure and diversified energy supply continues to grow, the Caribbean is increasingly positioned as a key emerging hub defined by scale, collaboration and long-term opportunity.

– on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

Source: APO

.

The upcoming MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 conference and exhibition will host a dedicated technical session, “Gas Processing, LNG Infrastructure & Regional Gas Monetization Pathways,” bringing into focus the infrastructure systems and engineering innovations enabling the transformation of the MSGBC basin into a globally relevant gas production and export hub.

The discussion comes as the region moves decisively from frontier exploration toward large-scale gas development, with LNG infrastructure, floating production systems and cross-border pipeline networks increasingly central to national energy strategies. Taking place in Dakar from December 1–3, MSGBC 2026 will convene governments, operators, EPC contractors and investors to shape the next phase of West Africa’s gas-led growth.

Momentum across the basin is being driven by a wave of project execution and policy alignment. In Senegal, authorities recently approved construction of the GTA–Gandon pipeline segment, a key link in the country’s national gas grid designed to channel domestic volumes from the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project into power generation and industrial use, reducing import dependence and lowering energy costs.

The GTA development itself illustrates the scale and complexity of modern offshore gas infrastructure. Subsea production systems located nearly 3,000 meters below sea level are tied back to a floating production unit that removes impurities before transferring gas to the Gimi FLNG vessel for liquefaction and export.

Further upstream, Senegal’s transfer of the Yakaar-Teranga gas field to state-owned Petrosen has unlocked one of the region’s most significant undeveloped gas resources. With an estimated 25 trillion cubic feet of gas and a proposed $7.5 billion development plan, the project is expected to anchor the country’s long-term industrialization strategy, with first production targeted for the late 2020s.

Across the wider MSGBC basin, international interest continues to build. Chevron has entered Guinea-Bissau’s offshore sector through operatorship of Blocks 5B and 6B, while Energean is reportedly evaluating participation in major developments including Mauritania’s BirAllah project and Senegal’s Yakaar-Teranga system, reflecting sustained confidence in the basin’s long-term gas potential.

Mauritania’s BirAllah field, with development concepts centered on a major offshore production system and onshore LNG hub near N’Diago Port, remains one of the basin’s largest undeveloped gas resources and a potential cornerstone of future export capacity.

The MSGBC 2026 technical session will examine how FLNG solutions, modular infrastructure and integrated pipeline systems are accelerating the commercialization of deepwater gas resources. The success of GTA Phase 1 – first gas in late 2024, first LNG in early 2025 and multiple cargo exports within its first year of operation – has already demonstrated the viability of this model at scale.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

Source: APO

.

The engineering and contracting models that delivered GTA and Sangomar are being measured against the basin’s next projects, where cost and schedule discipline will decide which developments advance.

The MSGBC basin is adopting the standardized engineering, phased development and integrated contracting that operators worldwide use to keep high-cost offshore projects financeable. With Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) and Sangomar now in production, the basin’s next wave of projects hinge on their ability to apply those models quickly and competitively.

These questions anchor the technical presentation “Deepwater Engineering & Offshore Project Delivery in the MSGBC Basin” at this year’s MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 conference and exhibition. The session aims to examine how subsea production systems, the deployment of FPSO and FLNG units, offshore drilling, marine logistics and contracting models combine to turn a discovery into bankable production.

In offshore infrastructure, concept selection follows the resource. The economics of each vessel choice are visible in the basin’s two producing assets. Sangomar relies on a standalone FPSO, a converted very large crude carrier supplied by MODEC and moored roughly 100 km offshore, with a first-phase cost of around $5 billion.

GTA processes gas on an FPSO before piping it to the Gimi FLNG vessel operated by Golar LNG under a 20-year contract, with a nameplate capacity of approximately 2.7 million tons per year. Oil developments reward the storage and offloading flexibility of an FPSO, while large-scale gas justifies the cost of dedicated liquefaction close to shore.

The subsea systems linking wells to their host facilities represent a significant portion of a deepwater project’s engineering risk and cost. Sangomar ties its wells to the FPSO through 101 km of rigid flowlines, with a 24-well drilling program completed by deepwater drillships during ramp-up, while GTA connects its ultra-deepwater wells across roughly 100 km to processing infrastructure. Phasing is the principal lever for containing that exposure, allowing operators to bring on early production before committing capital to later stages. Woodside is now assessing a Sangomar Phase 2 of around 33 additional wells tied back to the existing FPSO, an approach that reuses the host facility rather than financing a new one.

At Sangomar, the subsea production systems ­– umbilicals, risers and flowlines – were delivered by the Subsea Integration Alliance under a single engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract. This approach consolidated technical scopes that are traditionally tendered separately.

“As the MSGBC basin moves into its next phase of deepwater development, the ability to deliver projects efficiently, safely and competitively will be critical to unlocking new investment and production. Leveraging the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power platform, we aim to showcase the technologies, partnerships and delivery strategies that are helping transform discoveries into commercially viable production,” says Sandra Jeque, Vice President, Energy Capital & Power.

Gas developments lean on long-term LNG sales agreements and domestic supply commitments to underpin financing, while oil developments rely on the phased reuse of existing infrastructure to protect returns. As such, the “Deepwater Engineering & Offshore Project Delivery in the MSGBC Basin” presentation at MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 will examine how these engineering, logistics and contracting decisions connect, and how operators can carry the delivery performance achieved in the region into its next investment cycle.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.