The Chairperson of the One Economy Foundation, Monica Geingos, is in the United Arab Emirates for the inaugural session of Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week, at the invitation of the Chairman of the Health Department in Abu Dhabi, Mansoor Al Mansoori.

The Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week (ADGHW) is a borderless partnership committed to highlighting healthcare and life sciences to solve tomorrow's healthcare challenges. 

The programme will focus on the issues and opportunities driving healthcare services, investments, and innovation to solve the most important global health challenges.

Geingos spoke on addressing health inequities in the opening ceremony discussion themed "Reimagining Health and Life."

"There are a couple of fears that I have. The first one is something you mentioned in your opening statement, and that's where the global trust is. I think the relationship between the global south and the global north at the moment is probably at an all-time low. We saw what happened during COVID-19. Namibia, as many of you know, is a relatively well-managed country. We could afford the vaccines but couldn't access them, so there were inequities between countries."

Geingos emphasised the role of leadership in ensuring no one is left behind by the technological advances defining health.

She highlighted the need to leverage artificial technology and data in preventing, screening, and treating diseases and ensuring that non-communicable diseases, particularly among men, are not neglected.

"Also, just looking at our Ministries of Health as places that need serious leadership on procurement, logistics, IT, and political capital. Again, when we talk about political capital, we are talking about AI; we are talking about digital integration. But there are countries that lack IT infrastructure, and the cost of data is expensive. So we need to take a holistic view, as this conference is doing."

The meeting ending on Wednesday is one of the biggest healthcare conventions globally, attended by healthcare leaders, policymakers, stakeholders, and distributors from around the globe with the ultimate aim of 'Accelerating the Future of Global Healthcare.'