Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
Abu Dhabi is shifting the focus of its health ecosystem from reactive care to prevention, genomics, and system-wide integration. At World Health Expo (WHX) 2026, the emirate’s Department of Health (DoH) highlights how AI, data, and innovation are driving this transformation.
“The emirate is embedding intelligence across prevention, care delivery and system planning to support improved outcomes and long-term resilience,” Dr Asma Al Mannaei, Executive Director of the Health Life Sciences Sector at DoH, told Aletihad.
Participating in WHX under the unified Emirates Health platform, DoH is showcasing how regulation, data and clinical practice are aligned to strengthen population health and reinforce Abu Dhabi’s position as a global hub for healthcare innovation and life sciences.
From the department’s perspective, genomics is one of the most transformative trends shaping daily healthcare delivery as it moves the focus from treatment to early detection and precision intervention, Dr Al Mannaei said.
“Abu Dhabi has built genomics into prevention and care pathways through programmes enabled by insights from the Emirati Genome Programme.”
With genomics integrated into care, early detection begins as soon as an individual is born. “The Newborn Genetic Screening Programme enables the early identification of more than 815 treatable inherited conditions using umbilical cord blood, allowing intervention before symptoms appear.”
Genomics also informs routine prescribing decisions. “Pharmacogenomics applies these insights to routine prescribing, with PGx reports available to over 160,000 individuals through Malaffi, guiding medication choice and dosing.”
Prevention also extends into family planning, with proactive care put in place even before a child is conceived.
“The Premarital Genetic Screening Programme assesses genetic compatibility between couples, covering 570 genes linked to more than 840 inherited conditions, supporting informed family planning and contributing to healthier future generation,” Dr Al Mannaei said.
This integrated, data-driven model now underpins Abu Dhabi’s broader healthcare innovation strategy.
“Abu Dhabi enables healthcare innovation with speed, governance and real-world impact, ensuring that research and innovation translate into measurable improvement in care quality and patient outcomes,” Dr Al Mannaei said.
Beyond regulatory agility, she stressed the importance of funding and partnership models.
"Innovation is further supported through targeted funding mechanisms such as the Healthcare Research and Innovation fund, delivered in partnerships with the Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an, which enables translational research that addresses the healthcare sector’s key priorities and challenges.”
Sustained investment has already yielded visible results, she added. "Since 2021, Abu Dhabi has supported more than 80 healthcare startups, alongside a growing portfolio of advanced clinical trials and precision medicine initiatives."
She stressed that this combination of pace, funding, execution and real-world application positions Abu Dhabi as “a global reference for how healthcare innovation can consistently raise standards of care and long-term health outcomes.”
