Executive summary Despite unprecedented investment in digital health, from electronic health records to AI-driven diagnostics, global health outcomes have barely shifted. Healthcare systems remain fragmented, costs continue to rise and inequities persist. The problem is not innovation – it is implementation, integration and intelligence at scale. An intelligent health system is the next foundational infrastructure. Just as electricity grids, telecommunications and cloud computing became the backbone of economic progress, intelligent and interoperable systems must now become a core service for public health. Integrating diverse data streams into a health system, and translating them into real-time intelligence can guide policy-makers, support providers and enable individuals to make better decisions. The business case is urgent. Health systems are facing converging pressures: Rising non-communicable diseases, antimicrobial resistance, climate-sensitive health shocks, stalled maternal health, persistent mental health burden, chronic workforce shortages: this non-exhaustive list of risks carries severe fiscal consequences. Chronic non-communicable diseases are creating immense economic strain; for example, globally, diabetes already costs more than $1 trillion annually, while cancer-related losses are projected to exceed $25 trillion in total between 2020 and 2050, alongside other major costs arising from conditions such as cardiometabolic disease and obesity. At the same time, one-fifth of health spending in the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD) systems is ineffective or wasteful. Without a new model, the status quo is fiscally unsustainable. Intelligent health systems have the potential to deliver three primary outcomes: –Personalization at scale: Enabling interventions tailored to individuals at population scale –Access and equity: Increasing access to care, extending care to underserved groups, ensuring better and more inclusive outcomes –Efficiency and resilience: Reducing waste, duplication and cost drivers through integrated, real-time intelligence Abu Dhabi’s journey illustrates what happens when innovation is scaled into intelligence. Like many systems, Abu Dhabi faces high obesity and diabetes prevalence, significant cardiovascular The true potential of digital health innovation is intelligence. A New Era for Digital Health: Abu Dhabi’s Leap to Health Intelligence 5

A New Era for Digital Health 2026