‘Future Health: Global Initiative by Abu Dhabi’ has launched the ‘Future Health Challenge: Building Anticipatory Health Systems through Population Sensing’, in collaboration with MIT Solve.
Delivered as a rapid-cycle innovation challenge, selected innovators will be invited to the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit, taking place from 7–9 April 2026. Semi-finalists will pitch their solutions live to a jury of experts and the Summit audience.
Finalists will progress to a subsequent pitch event to determine the overall winner. The winning team will receive a $200,000 grand prize, alongside two runner-up awards of $50,000 each. In addition, between five and ten ‘honorable mention’ team leads will be invited to attend the Summit and provided with dedicated exhibition space within the Innovation Zone.
Open to innovators worldwide, the challenge seeks solutions that accelerate the transition from reactive healthcare to anticipatory models of care, strengthen system resilience, and improve health outcomes at scale. The challenge supports the development of novel, high-impact solutions and aligns with Future Health’s mission to accelerate collaboration, advance research and innovation, and invest in initiatives that place people and communities at the center of sustainable health progress.
Its launch underscores the growing need for coherent, anticipatory health systems grounded in foresight rather than hindsight. Despite global life expectancy more than doubling between 1800 and 2017, people still spend nearly half their lives in poor or moderate health.
HE Mansoor Ibrahim Al Mansoori Chairman – Abu Dhabi DoH
“The Future Health Challenge is about fueling a global shift from reactive care to true 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 recognize risk sooner, prevent disease, build more intelligent hospitals, and help people make informed choices that improve their health.”
Hala Hanna, Executive Director of MIT Solve, said that, “Anticipating health risks requires connecting innovation, evidence, and action at a global scale. 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.”
Chronic diseases are projected to cost the global economy $47 trillion by 2030, while nearly half of the world’s population still lacks full access to essential health services and early detection tools. Advances in health sensing are enabling earlier risk detection and clearer insight into how health trends evolve over time.
Health sensing ranges from community-based approaches to advanced digital and AI-enabled technologies. Gaps in access, capability, and infrastructure continue to determine how effectively predictive insights reach communities worldwide.
