A New Era for Digital Health 2026

Foreword In this age of artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation and disruption, it is often tempting to focus efforts on optimizing existing healthcare models rather than reimagining them. Taking this approach may lead to increased levels of early investment, but all too often it falls short in delivering sustained and valued returns. At the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Health and Healthcare, through its Digital Healthcare Transformation initiative, we are committed to improving health outcomes, access and efficiencies through the adoption and use of digital tools and data-driven solutions that reimagine health. We are proud that this initiative serves as a global platform for public–private collaboration on digital health, AI and data, helping leaders navigate health transformation and supporting their focus on patients, providers and population health enabled by technology. This white paper is intended to support the initiative’s goal of identifying exemplars of promising digital health transformations that are taking place around the world. These profiles are being assembled and shared to inspire and guide other leading practitioners pursuing similar goals and to strengthen the network and community of digital health practitioners from both the public and private sectors. In the case of Abu Dhabi, we were particularly inspired by the completeness of vision, the preference for platform-driven solutions and the firm commitment to laying a strong foundation of health data and synthesis to build actionable intelligence that informs decision-making at the individual, organizational and regional levels. The World Economic Forum is pleased to have collaborated with the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), Mansoor Ibrahim Al Mansoori and his team to bring forward their vision and this “pathfinder” journey in using digital health to build intelligence, inform decision-making and improve lives.Shyam Bishen Head, Centre for Health and Healthcare, World Economic Forum; Member of the Executive CommitteeA New Era for Digital Health: Abu Dhabi’s Leap to Health Intelligence January 2026 A New Era for Digital Health: Abu Dhabi’s Leap to Health Intelligence 3