Dubai: The unified national platform ‘Emirates Health’ showcased a range of significant projects and initiatives on the third day of its participation at the World Health Expo (WHX) 2026 in Dubai. This event underscored the increasing coordination between federal and local health authorities within a unified national framework.
According to Emirates News Agency, the projects aim to propel the UAE’s strategic transition towards crafting health policies and legislative frameworks augmented by digital technologies. This move is intended to enhance decision-making efficiency and foster data-driven governance, thus reinforcing the UAE’s role as a key player in shaping the future of global health.
As part of its showcase, the Ministry of Health and Prevention unveiled the ‘Health Policies and Legislation Smart Platform,’ a digital initiative designed to modernize health policy development through a transparent, participatory, and evidence-based approach. The platform is set to facilitate interactive planning and evaluation by engaging community members, experts, and specialists through a digital environment that enables effective communication with stakeholders across both public and private sectors.
The initiative is intended to ensure the involvement of relevant parties in the development and review of policies, while increasing reliance on informed perspectives that enhance compliance with related procedures. It also supports the development of legislation aligned with the UAE’s health priorities. The smart platform aims to expedite the strategic shift towards evidence-based health policies by enabling systematic data collection, analysis, and organization, which reduces the time required to develop and issue new policies.
Additionally, the platform is expected to elevate the quality of health legislation by integrating specialized insights, improving implementation efficiency, and mitigating potential challenges through pre-regulation testing and evaluation.
The platform’s sophisticated digital framework includes a seamless electronic access system and employs blockchain technology to securely process and store user-submitted data, promoting reliability. It automates data structuring for easier policy access, utilizes artificial intelligence for input analysis and studies, and features an integrated notification system to keep participants informed.
Hussain Al Rand, Assistant Undersecretary for the Public Health Sector at the Ministry of Health and Prevention, stated that the smart platform aligns with the ‘We the UAE 2031’ Vision by developing mechanisms to upgrade health governance and strengthen the regulatory framework. He noted that the project will improve quality of life by accelerating the transition toward data-driven, innovation-led services, while expanding community participation as a key enabler of effective, transparent policymaking.
Al Rand highlighted that the platform has undergone a piloting phase with a user survey assessing ease of use, content clarity, and navigation, which indicated high levels of user satisfaction. This reinforces the Ministry’s efforts to adopt digital solutions that enhance health policy effectiveness, bolster operational efficiency, and support sustainable development goals through stronger governance and societal impact.
Al Rand mentioned that the smart platform operates through multiple integrated pillars. The awareness pillar presents applicable health policies and legislation in the UAE, enhancing public understanding. The evaluation pillar focuses on gathering and analyzing community feedback to support national policy measurement and identify improvement areas. The thought leadership pillar and expert forum provide a structured space for dialogue and knowledge exchange among specialists.
Dr. Lubna Al Shaali, Director of the Health Policies and Legislation Department, emphasized that the smart platform enhances the clarity of legislative pathways and strengthens community engagement in health policy preparation and evaluation, enabling policies to meet health sector needs and keep pace with transformations.
The ‘Emirates Health’ platform at WHX 2026 also hosted workshops on developing medical practice and promoting evidence-based innovation. The Emirates Council for Integrative Medicine highlighted modern therapeutic approaches, and the Ministry of Health and Prevention, with the Ministry of Interior, organized a workshop on community services in healthcare.
Additionally, workshops on medical liability addressed regulatory frameworks and professional ethics, while the Dubai Health Authority conducted a training session on the ‘Hayat’ program for organ and tissue donation and transplantation.
The platform also facilitated the signing of several agreements, including a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Health and Prevention and Mediclinic Middle East for enhanced cooperation in medical services and training. The Emirates Drug Establishment signed an agreement with Roche Middle East, and the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi concluded memoranda with the Zayed Complex for Herbal Research and Traditional Medicine and Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital.
