$300,000 up for grabs as Abu Dhabi, MIT Solve launch global health challenge

Abu Dhabi has launched a global health innovation challenge offering $300,000 in prize funding to attract solutions that can predict disease earlier and help health systems shift from reactive care to prevention.

MIT Solve partners on challenge

The Future Health Challenge: Building Anticipatory Health Systems through Population Sensing has been rolled out by Future Health – A Global Initiative by Abu Dhabi, in partnership with MIT Solve, the innovation arm of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The initiative is led by the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi and held under the patronage of Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. 

Focus on prevention

The challenge welcomes entries from around the world that identify solutions which accelerate the shift from reactive healthcare delivery to anticipatory models of care, strengthen resilience, and improve health outcomes at scale. 

At stake is $200,000 for the winning team, with two runner-up prizes of $50,000 each, bringing total prize funding to $300,000. In addition, up to 10 teams will be selected as honourable mentions and invited to showcase their work at the Future Health Summit in Abu Dhabi this April. 

The challenge reflects the growing need for a coherent, anticipatory health system built on foresight. While average global life expectancy more than doubled between 1800 and 2017, people are still spending around 50 per cent of their lives in poor or moderate health. Chronic diseases are expected to contribute $47 trillion in global costs by 2030, and nearly half of the world’s population still lacks full access to essential health services and early detection technology. 

Wearables, AI, data seen as game changers

Advances in health sensing, including wearables, environmental monitoring, social data and AI-driven analytics are increasingly seen as key to predicting health risks before they escalate into costly, life-threatening conditions. However, gaps in access, infrastructure and capability continue to limit their impact, particularly in low-resource settings. 

Led by Future Health with MIT Solve as implementation partner, the challenge will support solutions designed for both low-resource environments and advanced health systems, with an emphasis on scalability and real-world deployment. 

Mansoor Ibrahim Al Mansoori, Chairman of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, said the initiative aims to accelerate a global shift towards prevention.
“Working with MIT Solve, we are backing innovators who, through sensing, are turning insight into predictive and preventive impact at scale. We want to help societies recognise risk sooner, prevent disease, build more intelligent hospitals, and help people make informed choices that improve their health,” he said.

Rapid-cycle pitches

The challenge will follow a rapid-cycle format. Selected innovators will be invited to the Future Health Summit from April 7 to 9, where semi-finalists will pitch their ideas live to an expert jury and summit audience. Finalists will advance to a subsequent pitch to determine the overall winner.

Beyond prize money, participants will gain global exposure, mentorship, and access to Abu Dhabi’s health and life sciences ecosystem, with organisers positioning the programme as a pathway to policy influence, investment and large-scale implementation.

Hala Hanna, Executive Director of MIT Solve, said anticipatory health systems depend on linking innovation with action.

“Through this partnership with Future Health, we are proud to support innovators in developing sensing solutions that can strengthen prediction, prevention, and equity across health systems, and help translate promising ideas into measurable impact.”

MIT Solve has supported nearly 100 global challenges and mobilised over $80 million for innovators, with many projects reaching hundreds of millions of people worldwide.