Global Health Leaders to Convene at Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit 2026

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 2, 2026--

Global leaders across healthcare, science, technology, policy, and investment will convene at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit from 20 to 22 October 2026 to examine how health systems can better anticipate risk and enable earlier intervention as advances in AI, genomics, diagnostics, and health data create new possibilities for understanding health risks earlier.

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As health systems respond to the growing burden of chronic disease and the need to help people live longer in good health, the ability to identify changing health risks and act sooner is becoming increasingly important. Hosted by Future Health – A Global Initiative by Abu Dhabi and the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, the Future Health Summit will be held under the theme 'To Sense is to Predict', exploring the global shift from reactive models of care towards earlier prediction, prevention, and personalised intervention.

Future Health is already translating this ambition into year-round activity. Its inaugural Future Health Challenge received 393 submissions from 68 countries with solutions already present in international communities. Additionally, the platform has released the Future of Longevity and Future of Healthy Living whitepapers, and joined the MIT Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research’s BioConvergence Cancer Alliance as a Founding Member. The Future Health Summit will build on this work, bringing the Future Health community together in Abu Dhabi to advance further collaboration and implementation.

With 130 Forum speakers and more than 175 exhibitors, with representation expected from 100 countries, the Summit will bring together expertise from a wide range of health systems and settings to examine how emerging approaches can work across different populations and models of care.

Featured Forum speakers include:

They will be joined by international ministers and government representatives. This global participation brings experience of national health systems and organisations to the discussions in Abu Dhabi, reflecting the reach of the Future Health community.

Her Excellency Dr Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, said: “The ability to understand health risk earlier can have a measurable impact on how health systems serve their populations. As advances in science and technology give us greater insight into health, the priority is to translate that insight into earlier action that can improves outcomes and help people live more years in good health.

“Global collaboration is fundamental to advancing this approach across different health systems and contexts. The Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit brings international expertise together with the capabilities we have built in Abu Dhabi, creating opportunities compare experience across health systems and examine how new approaches can work in practice. Abu Dhabi provides a real-world environment where that global exchange can connect directly with implementation at population scale,” she added.

At the core of the Summit is the Forum, which will feature keynotes, C-suite conversations, and public-private dialogues involving leaders from across the global health ecosystem. The Forum will explore ‘To Sense is to Predict’ at three interconnected levels - individual, health system, and population - with discussions spanning Future Health’s four thematic focus areas: Longevity and Precision Medicine; Digital Health & AI; Health System Resilience & Sustainability; and Investment in Life Sciences.

Alongside the Forum, the Global Exhibition will bring together exhibitors from across healthcare, technology, life sciences, and investment, showcasing innovations and capabilities shaping the future of health. A programme of Side Events will provide further opportunities for focused dialogue and collaboration.

The Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit is the annual flagship gathering of Future Health – A Global Initiative by Abu Dhabi, a year-round platform for global collaboration and transformative health innovation. Throughout 2026, Future Health has advanced the ‘To Sense is to Predict’ agenda through international dialogues, research and impact initiatives designed to move ideas towards real-world application.

A full list of Forum speakers, which will continue to be updated in the lead up to the event, is available on the Future Health website.

Register as a visitor: Future Health Summit Visitor Registration

Media registrations are welcome at: Future Health Summit Media Registration

About Future Health – A Global Initiative by Abu Dhabi

Future Health is a year-round platform for global collaboration and transformative health innovation, held 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.

Bringing together health researchers, policymakers, business leaders, investors and entrepreneurs from across disciplines and geographies, Future Health drives collective action to strengthen health systems and unlock longer, healthier lives for all.

Through a year-round programme of research insights, publications, impact initiatives, Challenges, R&D funding, and cross-sector convenings, Future Health advances progress across four focus areas: longevity and precision medicine, health systems and sustainability, digital health and AI, and investment in life sciences.

Future Health is curated and convened by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi and its Founding Partners PureHealth, M42, Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi, and Mubadala Bio. Mediclinic Middle East serves as Strategic Partner and Burjeel Holdings as Associate Partner.

For more information, visit www.futurehealthinitiative.ae ⁠ and follow Future Health on: X, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.

About the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH):

The DoH is the regulatory body of the healthcare sector at the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and ensures excellence in healthcare by monitoring the health status of the population. DoH defines the strategy for the health system, monitors and analyses the health status of the population and performance of the system. In addition, DoH shapes the regulatory framework for the health system, inspects against regulations, enforces standards, and encourages adoption of world-class best practices and performance targets by all healthcare service providers in the Emirate. DoH also drives programmes to increase awareness and adoption of healthy living standards among the residents of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in addition to regulating scope of services, premiums and reimbursement rates of the health system.

For further information on DOH, visit https://www.doh.gov.ae/ and follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Forum panel and speakers at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit

PRAGUE (AP) — A constant eye-catching queue that forms daily at a sculpture on Prague 's Charles Bridge has become a new feature of the 14th-century landmark.

Tourists have long flocked to the bridge over the Vltava River to visit the statue of St John of Nepomuk. Now, visitors are lining up at the nearby Pietà sculpture to recreate an iconic 1988 photograph of music icons Depeche Mode.

The British electro-rock band first crossed the Iron Curtain in March 1988 to play a historic concert in Prague, then the capital of communist Czechoslovakia. They returned that November with renowned Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn, who captured them exploring the city for photographs that later appeared in his book, “Depeche Mode: Strangers.”

One black-and-white image has a particular appeal for fans: Dave Gahan and Martin Gore standing beside the Pietà sculpture.

Fans have been making the pilgrimage for years, but photographs of a mass gathering on the bridge between the band’s Prague concerts in 2024 appear to have helped fuel a modern-day boom.

Currently, the photo recreated by the visiting fans is trending with millions of views on social media.

Jorge Sanchez, from California, and his wife were among the recent visitors.

“Well, I remember seeing the picture from way back, and then I kind of remember, and I looked it up, and I learned that it was here, so I wanted to make sure I took a picture,” Sanchez said.

“I think it fit at the time, you know, with their music, you know, and their message and their music with your personal Jesus and all of that, so it’s kind of fitting.”

Maria Hofer and Lara Hinteregger came from Austria.

“We just saw this on Pinterest or on TikTok, and it’s kind of one of the most famous pictures you can take here in Prague,” Hofer said. “So, we wanted to do it as well,” Hofer said.

“Yeah, and we also like the vibe of the music. We feel like it fits the vibe of the city pretty well,” Hinteregger added.

St John Nepomuk was tortured to death at the request of King Wenceslas IV in 1393 because he refused to violate the seal of the confession and reveal to him the sins of his wife. His dead body was thrown into the river from Charles Bridge.

It is said that touching the polished engravings of the event placed at the pedestal of the Nepomuk statue will bring luck and ensure a return to Prague.

It is not clear if the members of Depeche Mode placed their hands on the Nepomuk statue in March 1988, but they returned later that same year — and their photographs have given fans another reason to follow.

Associated Press video journalist Stanislav Hodina contributed.

People wait in line to recreate a famous photo of two members of Depeche Mode, taken by Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn in 1988, by the Pieta statue at the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

People wait in line to recreate a famous photo of two members of Depeche Mode, taken by Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn in 1988, by the Pieta statue at the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

People pose to recreate a famous photo of two members of Depeche Mode, taken by Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn in 1988, by the Pieta statue at the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

People pose to recreate a famous photo of two members of Depeche Mode, taken by Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn in 1988, by the Pieta statue at the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Jorge Sanchez from Los Angeles displays a famous photo of two members of Depeche Mode, taken by Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn in 1988, as he waits in line to recreate this image by the Pieta statue at the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)