H.E Mansoori Al Mansoori: When it comes to human lives and health, our world cannot operate in silos

During the inaugural of Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week, organised by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi under the theme ‘Accelerating the Future of Global Healthcare’, and taking place until 15 May, His Excellency Mansoor Al Mansoori, Chairman of the Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH), said: “The healthcare landscape stands as one of the most dynamic and rapidly evolving sectors, driven by the shifting patterns of diseases, the evolution of societal needs, and the ongoing development of available treatments. Recognising that the future of health hinges on innovation and its effective implementation, it’s clear that people, from researchers and a highly qualified healthcare workforce are drawn to work in economies boasting an agile regulatory ecosystem and markets that offer opportunities for advanced practices across various domains, including research, clinical trials, leadership and management, and education.”

H.E. Al Mansoori added: “When it comes to human lives and health, our world cannot operate in silos – borderless collaboration and access to digital tools in healthcare are global responsibilities that benefit humanity. By strengthening partnerships with leading global healthcare providers and institutions, we aim to extend our capabilities at home through providing a collaborative hub, responsible innovation, and investment, thus ensuring good health and quality care are a universal standard for humankind.”

H.E. Al Mansoori continued: “Abu Dhabi has made significant progress in this area. We are currently leveraging AI use cases that inform us about risk to the population on a variety of health conditions and allow us to better plan our disease management approaches and healthcare policies. This exemplifies our commitment to an integrated approach in healthcare, where responsible innovation meets the evolving needs of our population.”

H.E. Al Mansoori concluded: “It is important to think and act together on how we make healthcare more accessible, equitable to everyone as well as ensuring that digitisation is penetrating every layer of society. These are the kind of ideas we will explore and action through Abu Dhabi Healthcare Week.”

As a premier destination equipped with an advanced infrastructure, Abu Dhabi stands at the forefront of healthcare excellence, capable of leading global efforts to continuously enhance healthcare services for communities, making access to quality, innovative healthcare a reality for all. 

In line with efforts to boost the healthcare sector, the Emirate effectively utilised the insights gathered from The Emirati Genome Program (EGP) to enrich the preventive and personalised healthcare experience for community members. The program has achieved numerous accomplishments, having collected, and analysed over 500,000 samples from across the nation. Key successes include the integration of premarital genetic testing into premarital screening programme, the pharmacogenomics programme, and the personalised precision medicine programme for oncology, all reflective of the substantial applications of the Emirati Genome Program in Abu Dhabi’s healthcare system.

On top of that, Abu Dhabi is home to some of the world’s leading healthcare brands including Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Imperial College London and more. These establishments offer its residents the innovative Health Information Exchange platform “Malaffi”, which enables real-time exchange of crucial patient health data between healthcare providers, creating a centralised database of unified patient records connecting 100% of health facilities in the emirate and serving approximately 50,000 users. 

Leveraging artificial intelligence technologies, Abu Dhabi integrated multiple innovative initiatives to elevate its healthcare system, including the ‘Smart Ambulance’ and the ‘Unified Medical Operations Command’ system for healthcare emergency management (H100), the generative open-access clinical large language model “Med 42”, the “My Doctor Portal”, the “Patient Risk Profile”, and more. Additionally, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi supports over 70 emerging start-ups focused on healthcare innovations, dedicated to achieving groundbreaking breakthroughs for the sector.

Furthermore, the emirate remains dedicated to enhancing its pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities, collaborating with global partners like AstraZeneca to produce innovative medicines locally. Abu Dhabi also hosts six centres of healthcare excellence, offering services across various specialties in alignment with international best practices. In 2023, the emirate also served as the host for 174 new clinical trials, demonstrating a commitment to advancing medical research. Moreover, the total number of life sciences programs and projects experienced a notable annual growth rate of around 40% during the same period.

During its first day, the event is hosting the Healthcare Leaders Forum, which will welcome around 200 VIPs including ministers and public officials, CEOs, international investors, heads of multilateral organisations, and leading health and medicine experts, to discuss ways of taking action to address current challenges in global healthcare. The results and recommendations of the forum will serve as a foundation for developing future strategic healthcare plans. 

The three-day Future Health Summit will host a wide variety of panel sessions and live discussions around themes central to healthcare, including the use of AI in medical research, human longevity research, genomics, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals, among other themes.