Building resilience, sustaining health: Abu Dhabi’s blueprint for future-ready care

As global healthcare systems face mounting climate shocks and rising economic and demographic pressures, the healthcare dialogue is being reframed.

It is no longer enough for systems to treat illness; they must anticipate disruption, adapt swiftly, and sustain delivery under pressure. This readiness of the public healthcare system is rooted in the principles of resilience and sustainability, compelling national and cross-border collaborations for a recalibrated global health strategy. This is where Abu Dhabi is charting a bold path towards resilience and sustainability.

In April 2025, this imperative takes centre stage at Abu Dhabi Global Health Week (ADGHW), an international platform convened under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. Hosted by the Department of Health—Abu Dhabi (DoH), ADGHW seeks to accelerate innovations in life sciences, artificial intelligence (AI), and precision health and forge a new global consensus on how healthcare systems can withstand shocks, reduce inequities, and serve communities across generations. Developed to be a year-round platform, the in-person forum and exhibition takes place on 15-17 April 2025, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC).

Navigating large, diverse populations and fast-evolving health challenges, Abu Dhabi and India are uniquely positioned to co-create resilient, tech-enabled systems. From genomics and AI to digital public health, their collaboration is essential to shaping equitable, scalable solutions for the two regions and beyond.

Redesigning systems for disruption, not stability
This year’s theme, ‘Towards Longevity: Redefining Health and Well-being,’ marks a strategic pivot from episodic care to enduring infrastructure. Any healthcare infrastructure operates at the intersection of policy, data governance, hospitals, and medicines. Increasingly, health systems are being evaluated not by their capacity during times of calm but by their agility during crises. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep structural vulnerabilities in even the most advanced health systems, prompting a re-examination of how preparedness, equity, and continuity of care are built into the fabric of healthcare delivery.

ADGHW seeks to catalyse conversations around response-building mechanisms to these learnings. As a digitally enabled hub, the emirate is leveraging computing power and health informatics to develop predictive models, coordinate responses, and decentralise access to care. The launch of the Malaffi health information exchange has made real-time, cross-institutional data sharing a standard feature of patient care. Meanwhile, the Emirati Genome Program is laying the groundwork for future health strategies grounded in population-specific insights.

According to H.E. Dr Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary at the DoH, this integrated approach is designed to weather long-term challenges, not just episodic crises. “Resilience is not just about bouncing back—it is about building forward. That means designing systems that can cope under stress while still delivering quality care, particularly for those who are most vulnerable,” she said. “We are embedding sustainability into the core of healthcare strategy—from infrastructure to workforce to the way we use data.”

A transnational dialogue on health
What distinguishes Abu Dhabi’s approach is its insistence that resilience is a shared global objective. In convening experts across geographies and disciplines, ADGHW is fostering the kind of transnational dialogue that complex, interlinked health challenges demand. From the economic pressures of ageing societies to the spread of antimicrobial resistance, the solutions are unlikely to come from any one system—but they can emerge from coordinated investment, learning, and implementation.

Examples of this collaborative spirit abound. The previous year’s event provided a platform for GSK’s launch of a regional vaccine distribution hub, reinforcing health supply chains across the Middle East. It also hosted the publication of the white paper ‘Towards Health Equity: Bridging the Gap for Individuals with Autism’, published by the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC) in partnership with PwC Middle East, advocating for inclusive health policies that support people with autism. These signal the guiding principles of an ecosystem that prizes both innovation and institutional reform.

As HE Dr Rashed Obaid Alsuwaidi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Public Health Center notes, “Resilience is about systems, but it is also about values. Equity, inclusion, and foresight are not optional—they are essential. That is the message we are carrying into ADGHW 2025, and it is a message that resonates across borders.”

Looking ahead
By 2035, Abu Dhabi is projected to add more than AED 100 billion to its GDP through the life sciences sector and create over 20,000 jobs. In shifting the global conversation from crisis response to systemic foresight, ADGHW is positioning itself—and Abu Dhabi—as a crucial hub in the future of global health.

Resilient and sustainable health systems do not emerge overnight. They require intention, investment, and international partnership. In bringing together the architects of tomorrow’s health systems, Abu Dhabi is making a compelling case: that resilience is the starting point of reimagining public healthcare systems.

Held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from 15–17 April 2025, ADGHW brings together stakeholders across healthcare, technology, finance, policy, and philanthropy, engaging audiences from the UK, Switzerland, South Korea, China, the US, and Singapore.