Rewriting the health playbook: How Abu Dhabi is scaling AI and digital care

Time of India

5 days ago

In April 2025, global health leaders, policymakers, innovators, and researchers convened for Abu Dhabi Global Health Week (ADGHW)—a flagship initiative of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH). Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, the year-round global platform advances transformative solutions across health and life sciences. Health doesn't operate in a silo; it calls for critical thinking and collaboration among practitioners, policymakers, pharmaceutical leaders, researchers, and frontline healthcare workers accelerating shared health ambitions worldwide.
The 2025 theme, 'Towards Longevity: Redefining Health and Well-being,' mirrors ADGHW's ambition: shifting from episodic treatment to continuous, preventive, and personalised care.
The promise of digital health and AI
One pressing theme that has dominated the public health discourse in the past few years is digital health and artificial intelligence (AI). Advanced technologies are unlocking new frontiers by improving access, enhancing clinical outcomes, and supporting more resilient health systems. From remote monitoring, AI-diagnostics, to telemedicine and predictive analysis, Abu Dhabi is reimagining care pathways to deliver personalised treatment while empowering providers with real-time, data-driven insights.
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H.E. Dr. Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi
According to H.E. Dr. Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, 'Digital health allows us to tailor care to the needs of each individual while improving access across diverse communities. Whether through telemedicine platforms or data-enabled prevention strategies, our focus is on strengthening system resilience and enhancing patient outcomes.'
Abu Dhabi's growing trust-based health data and technical infrastructure presents a fertile ground for innovation. Initiatives such as Malaffi, the region's first Health Information Exchange, and the Emirati Genome Program are central to this vision. While the former facilitates real-time data sharing among care providers, the latter creates a unique dataset to analyse genetic predispositions to build better individual and population-level responses in health management.
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India's interest in scaling population health genomics (through initiatives such as the Genome India project, which aims to map the genetic diversity of the Indian population) aligns with such frameworks in Abu Dhabi. Data governance, ethical AI usage, and consent frameworks are some of the fronts where cross-border collaboration could be envisioned.
Innovation Through Strategic Initiatives
Initiatives announced at ADGHW 2025 reflect Abu Dhabi's role as a global health innovation leader, unveiling a suite of bold new initiatives that move digital health from concept to execution.
Notably, the launch of the Health, Endurance, Longevity, and Medicine (HELM) Cluster—a partnership between the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, and Hub71—signals a bold step toward advancing health life sciences, R&D, and building a robust ecosystem for medical innovation, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and biotechnology.
The Startup Zone and Smart Health Hackathon spotlighted emerging innovators tackling real-world health challenges through AI-powered and digital-first approaches. The inaugural ADGHW Innovation Awards were also introduced, recognising breakthroughs that are driving meaningful improvements in patient outcomes, healthcare accessibility, and system efficiency.
A human-centred approach to innovation
However, digital transformation in healthcare transcends the technological realm. It must be rooted in the realities of patients and on-ground experiences that have emerged from years of clinical practice. Dr. Asma Al Mannaei, Executive Director of the of the Health Life Sciences Sector at the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, underscores its impact; 'The future of health is patient-centred. Technology is a powerful enabler, but the true impact comes when innovations align with human need.'
Technologies shown at ADGHW are shifting health towards proactive and predictive models of care, helping individuals manage chronic conditions, while algorithms interpret patient data to identify health risks before they escalate.
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uilding a future-ready healthcare workforce
The success of this transformation depends equally on human capital. As AI and digital tools become more embedded in health workflows, there is a growing need for skilled professionals who can operate in hybrid, tech-enabled environments.
'Investing in workforce development is key to realising the benefits of digital health,' notes Dr. Rashed Obaid Al Suwaidi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC) . 'Our role is to ensure that future clinicians and allied health professionals are equipped with both clinical and digital competencies, ensuring a seamless integration of innovation into care delivery.'
This is true in the context of India as well, as it seeks to upskill its healthcare workforce to adopt emerging technologies. Abu Dhabi's initiatives present a model for India's academic and public-private institutions. The focus is on supporting the development of an AI-trained workforce capable of advancing both diagnostic precision and operational efficiency.
Public health, equity, and global collaboration
ADGHW 2025 also steered conversations on policy innovation, to drive an actionable agenda across global collaborators. A major milestone was the launch of a Global Declaration on Longevity and Precision Health, outlining an actionable agenda to extend both lifespan and healthspan through international cooperation and innovation, placing longevity at the heart of global health priorities.
The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) also signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which focuses on advancing precision medicine and genomics in oncology, rare genetic disorders, and metabolic diseases, leveraging AI and collaborative research to pioneer new treatment pathways. This multi-stakeholder partnership included PureHealth, M42, Illumina, Khalifa University (KU), New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), and the Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi (IHLAD).
In a world-first, Abu Dhabi unveiled the AI-powered Population Health Intelligence Framework—a learning health system designed to continuously predict, prevent, and respond to public health challenges through AI and real-time analytics.
'Public health must be inclusive, data-informed, and anticipatory,' says H.E. Dr. Rached Obaid Al Suwaidi, Director-General of Abu Dhabi Public Health Center (ADPHC). 'Through ADGHW, we are advocating for integrated approaches that connect population health strategies with emerging digital tools.'
This intersection of innovation and inclusion is critical as healthcare systems globally face challenges of scale, access, and sustainability. Through these measures, Abu Dhabi is positioning itself as both a contributor and convener in shaping the global health agenda.
Infrastructure for impact
Technology alone does not deliver transformation, it must be embedded within systems designed for agility, interoperability, and scale. Ibrahim Al Jallaf, Division Director of Digital Health at DoH, underscores that 'Our focus is on integrating digital health tools into a unified ecosystem. Whether it's through regulatory frameworks, investment incentives, or data platforms, we are building the infrastructure to support sustained impact.'
ADGHW also provides the economic foundation for this transformation. By 2045, Abu Dhabi's life sciences sector is projected to contribute over AED 94 billion to GDP and generate more than 30,000 jobs. This economic vision is tightly interlinked with the health innovation agenda, making the Emirate a compelling hub for Indian health tech startups seeking Middle East expansion.
From Abu Dhabi to the world
As a year-round platform, ADGHW fosters a strategic bridge between global health priorities and local capacity, creating a space where data, expertise, and ambition converge.
For leaders across government, academia, industry, and civil society, it presents an opportunity to co-create solutions that resonate far beyond borders, enhancing health outcomes not only for individuals but for entire communities and nations.