As health systems worldwide face rising costs, growing chronic disease burdens and uneven digital progress, this white paper argues that digitization alone is no longer sufficient. A new era of global health requires a system-level leap: one that embeds intelligence – not just digital tools – at the foundation of health.
Co-authored by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi and the World Economic Forum, the paper illustrates how Abu Dhabi has progressed beyond isolated digital solutions to build an integrated, intelligence-driven health system. This approach is underpinned by real-time, AI-enabled infrastructure designed to advance prevention, equity and personalized care at population scale. Drawing on parallels from system-level transformations seen in banking, cloud computing and energy, the paper shows how health can similarly leapfrog legacy models by treating intelligence as a shared, foundational service. It outlines the enabling conditions, governance mechanisms and investment principles required by countries looking to accelerate this transition in collaboration with private-sector leaders.
This blueprint is a contribution to the emerging "Pathfinders" network of the Forum's Digital Healthcare Transformation (DHT) Initiative. It offers actionable insights from a global exemplar – and extends an invitation to partners to co-create resilient, intelligence-driven health systems capable of global scale.