Every major industry has faced a moment when incremental change was no longer enough – when transformation required a system-level leap. Health now stands at that same threshold. Other sectors have shown what is possible when data, infrastructure and policy converge to create shared systems: –Banking: Fragmented institutions became interoperable through systems such as SWIFT, open banking and mobile payments, creating digital ecosystems that drive trust, transparency and inclusion –Cloud computing: Isolated servers evolved into global infrastructure, enabled by regulatory frameworks that support data exchange, privacy and security, while unlocking innovation and scale –Energy systems: National grids transformed into smart networks, integrating renewable sources and real-time analytics to balance supply and demand efficiently Each leap shared the same ingredients: interoperability, data as infrastructure, enabling policy and collective investment in shared platforms. These shifts did not simply improve efficiency; they created the foundation for new industries, services and markets. The proliferation of AI is a great example of an innovation that emerged from a connected system and shared infrastructure. Health must now make its equivalent leap, and intelligent health systems are the enabling infrastructure – an intelligent layer that unites fragmented data, connects innovation to implementation and turns individual interventions into system-wide outcomes. As in other sectors, however, this convergence depends on policy and regulatory environments that encourage openness, interoperability and trust. When intelligence is embedded at the core, every advancement, from genomics to AI to digital therapeutics, compounds in value. The result is not just better healthcare but a smarter, more resilient economy, where prevention, personalization and productivity reinforce one another. Abu Dhabi’s model demonstrates that this transformation is both possible and practical. By investing in intelligence as infrastructure, health systems can move beyond pilots to platforms and from innovation in isolation to innovation at scale.1.5 Taking a system-level leap A New Era for Digital Health: Abu Dhabi’s Leap to Health Intelligence 11

A New Era for Digital Health 2026