DUBAI, 28th September, 2026 (WAM) -- Health security and disease prevention will form the two main pillars of WHX Leaders 2027, taking place on 26th January as part of World Healthcare Week 2027 in Expo City Dubai.
The summit will bring together ministers, representatives of global companies, sovereign investment funds and healthcare leaders from the region and around the world under the theme “Health 2050: Designing the Next Era of Proactive Systems – Resilient Nations. Thriving Lives.”
Its 2027 programme will focus on two strategic pillars: “Resilient Nations: Building Strategic Health Security” and “Thriving Lives: The Healthspan Imperative”, reflecting the growing importance of resilient health systems, disease prevention and extending healthy lifespans to national prosperity and competitiveness.
Health systems worldwide are approaching a significant demographic turning point. The World Health Organisation (WHO) projects that the number of people aged 60 and over will more than double, from one billion in 2019 to 2.1 billion by 2050, requiring major adaptations across health and social care systems and wider society.
The shift is expected to be even sharper in the UAE, where the number of people aged 60 and over is projected to increase more than six-fold between 2020 and 2050, according to estimates by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The UAE has moved early to align national policies with these priorities. The Dubai Economic Agenda D33 and Dubai Social Agenda 33 underpin the newly established Dubai Longevity Authority, which is tasked with developing an integrated ecosystem focused on prevention, healthy ageing and investment in advanced healthcare.
At the federal level, the National Strategy for Wellbeing 2031, aligned with the UAE Centennial 2071, places health and quality of life among the key measures of the country’s long-term sustainable progress.
The WHX Leaders 2027 agenda, supported by headline partner PureHealth, builds on the inaugural summit held in February 2026, which established a direction for health-system transformation centred on prevention, integrated health data, responsible technology adoption, equity and collaboration.
WHX Leaders 2027 will form part of World Healthcare Week 2027, taking place from 25th to 28th January in Dubai and bringing together World Health Expo, World Health Expo Tech and WHX Leaders to connect healthcare trade, technology and global leadership.