Abu Dhabi’s new health equation: From prevention to precision care, building healthier families for life

Abu Dhabi Department of Health is working with its partners to ensure the delivery of specialized healthcare services and enhance quality of life through an integrated health system capable of predicting risks, enabling prevention, responding rapidly to illness, and supporting recovery.

To achieve this, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi has adopted an integrated model built around four interconnected pillars: prevention and proactive healthcare; world-class quality of care; harnessing innovation; and strengthening preparedness and response.

The programme is being implemented across more than 3,800 healthcare facilities, alongside Centres of Excellence in advanced clinical fields, including adult and paediatric cardiac surgery, bone marrow transplantation, multi-organ transplantation, burns care and stroke treatment. A specialized city dedicated to women’s and children’s health is also being developed, adding a major new dimension to the emirate’s advanced healthcare ecosystem.

In Abu Dhabi, family health does not begin with a visit to the doctor. It starts much earlier.

When a young man or woman begins considering marriage, when an expectant mother prepares to welcome her first child, or when a father plans for his children’s future, they are supported by an integrated healthcare system designed to accompany them at every stage of life.

As part of the UAE’s Year of the Family 2026, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi is strengthening this approach, driven by a firm belief that building a strong society begins with healthy families, and that early prevention and preparedness for the future are fundamental to quality of life.

In a world facing growing health challenges linked to lifestyles and chronic diseases, family health is no longer simply an individual matter. It is a shared societal responsibility requiring a healthcare system capable of anticipating risks, enabling prevention, responding rapidly to illness and supporting recovery.

This is why the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi has adopted an integrated model centred on four interconnected pillars: prevention and proactivity, world-class quality of care, innovation, and preparedness and response.

Abu Dhabi places prevention at the forefront of its priorities, recognising that early intervention is key to protecting the health of future generations.

As part of this approach, new family-health screenings have been incorporated into the comprehensive periodic screening programme “IFHAS”, which begins at the age of 18. These include reproductive health screenings for young men and women, enabling them to make informed health decisions at different stages of their lives.

Genetic testing has also been incorporated into the premarital screening programme for Emirati couples preparing for marriage. The initiative enables couples to make informed health decisions and helps protect future children from preventable genetic disorders.

The test covers more than 570 genes associated with more than 840 medical conditions, strengthening the community’s ability to detect risks early and reduce potential health risks in the future.

The journey does not stop at marriage. It extends into parenthood and reproductive health, as Abu Dhabi continues to strengthen its position in women’s and children’s healthcare through an integrated ecosystem that includes assisted reproductive technologies.

These services achieve some of the highest success rates globally and are supported by robust regulatory frameworks and sustained investment in scientific research and innovation.

When a child is born, the healthcare system continues to support the family through the newborn genetic screening programme, one of the most comprehensive programmes of its kind globally.

The programme screens for more than 815 genetic conditions that can be treated. It enables the early detection of conditions that may not present symptoms at birth but could affect a child’s health later in life, allowing timely intervention and improving quality of life.

The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi has also launched an integrated postnatal care programme combining home visits, teleconsultations and outpatient care.

The programme ensures mothers receive medical and psychological support during the postnatal period, strengthening the health and wellbeing of both mother and child.

For families’ day-to-day healthcare needs, Abu Dhabi’s primary healthcare network provides comprehensive and personalised care based on a long-term relationship between family physicians and their patients.

The network includes 818 family physicians working across 237 facilities throughout the emirate.

Services include vaccinations, routine screenings, health education, psychological support and chronic disease management, strengthening prevention and improving health outcomes.

Healthy families are built through small everyday habits that can make a major difference.

Abu Dhabi’s Health Festival serves as a community-wide celebration of healthy living, translating awareness into daily practices through educational and interactive activities focused on four key areas: physical activity, nutrition, sleep and mental wellbeing.

The festival attracted more than 47,000 people in its inaugural edition and aims to empower families to adopt sustainable, preventive habits as part of Abu Dhabi’s Healthy Living Strategy, which seeks to make healthier choices easier and more accessible to the community.

Alongside prevention, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi works with its partners to provide specialised healthcare services through more than 3,800 healthcare facilities.

The emirate has also established Centres of Excellence in advanced clinical fields, including adult and paediatric cardiac surgery, bone marrow transplantation, multi-organ transplantation, burns care and stroke treatment.

A specialised city dedicated to women’s and children’s health is also under development, adding a new dimension to Abu Dhabi’s advanced healthcare system.

The Visiting Doctors Programme brings leading international medical expertise to the emirate, enabling patients to access advanced care locally while supporting knowledge transfer and the development of local capabilities.

Abu Dhabi is harnessing the latest technologies to empower individuals to manage their healthcare journeys with greater ease.

The Malaffi health information exchange platform covers most healthcare facilities across the emirate, enabling physicians to access patient information quickly and accurately and supporting better-informed clinical decisions.

The platform also provides pharmacogenomics reports and AI-powered risk assessment profiles designed to help predict chronic diseases.

To further enhance the family healthcare experience, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi launched the “Sehhatna” application, a unified platform for booking appointments, accessing teleconsultations and medical records, and linking family members’ health profiles.

The application has also been integrated into the TAMM platform, making healthcare services more accessible and seamlessly connected to people’s everyday lives.

During emergencies, Abu Dhabi strengthens the readiness of its healthcare system through round-the-clock emergency services and a Unified Medical Operations Centre that coordinates healthcare responses and resource management among different healthcare providers.

This integrated approach helps ensure rapid response and continuity of care under all circumstances.

Through this comprehensive approach, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi is building a healthcare system that goes beyond treating illness to promoting health and quality of life.

It is a system designed to accompany families at every step of their journey — from the first major health decision to every stage of life.

In the Year of the Family 2026, Abu Dhabi is reaffirming its commitment to making family health a cornerstone of development, while recognising that investment in prevention, innovation and preparedness is the path towards a healthier, more resilient and sustainable society for generations to come.