Abu dhabi: Speaking at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos, Mansoor Al Mansoori, Chairman of the Department of Health - Abu Dhabi (DOH), called for a fundamental shift in how health systems are designed, governed, and scaled, moving from fragmented silos and isolated innovation to system-level health intelligence.
According to Emirates News Agency, Al Mansoori addressed global leaders during the high-level dialogue, 'Healthcare Needs New Ideas', emphasizing that while innovation in health has accelerated, outcomes have not kept pace due to the fragmentation of systems which are more focused on treatment rather than prevention. He stated, "Health is our greatest wealth; if you focus on health, you will have thriving economies and societies."
Al Mansoori elaborated on Abu Dhabi's approach, seeing health as integrated intelligent infrastructure, with people as the core focus. This AI-enabled system is designed to prioritize care before cure, predicting risks, preventing diseases, and acting quickly to save lives and restore health and wellbeing. He also mentioned that Abu Dhabi's intelligent system is already yielding results by enabling earlier detection, faster emergency response, and more targeted prevention at both individual and population levels.
He further stressed the need for treating health as infrastructure which demands integration, transparency, and quality. He urged for a shift from isolated initiatives to an integrated system capable of learning, adapting, and improving continuously, emphasizing long-term impact over short-term fixes.
The session was moderated by Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO of Ruder Finn, and included panelists Michael Sen, CEO of Fresenius; Deepak Nath, CEO of Smith+Nephew; and Nadine Hachach-Haram, CEO of Proximie. The panel discussed the challenges of scaling technology-driven health innovation and the need for new collaboration models, governance, and incentives for population-level impact.
Kathy Bloomgarden reiterated the need for systemic thinking in healthcare, highlighting that most countries solve problems sequentially without considering the system as a whole. The discussion aligns with the DOH - Abu Dhabi's collaboration with the World Economic Forum as a Global Pathfinder within the Forum's Digital Healthcare Transformation initiative.
In line with the initiative, the World Economic Forum published the white paper 'A New Era for Digital Health: Abu Dhabi's Leap to Health Intelligence', showcasing Abu Dhabi's transition from digital innovation to system-wide health intelligence. The paper positions intelligent health systems as essential infrastructure and presents Abu Dhabi's model as a guide for governments and industry leaders aiming to modernize healthcare through integrated data and public-private collaboration.
Through its partnership with the World Economic Forum, the Department of Health - Abu Dhabi aims to advance new approaches to prevention, longevity, and resilience, supporting the global shift from fragmented healthcare to intelligent, learning health systems.