This month’s edition sits within a broader conversation about how the UAE is rethinking health, not as something that begins in hospitals, but as something shaped by everyday life.
I spoke with Ahmed AlKhazraji, executive director of Healthy Living Abu Dhabi, whose work spans public policy, urban design, education, workplaces and individual behaviour. The focus is not on treatment or specialist care, but on prevention and on how Abu Dhabi is setting out to become one of the healthiest places in the world.
That ambition is not simply framed as a slogan. It is being built into every day – what people see and what they buy. The Healthy Living strategy is a long-term redesign of daily life, in the service of a healthier population and city.
Some examples of this include changes to food labels, the way public advertising is regulated and wider efforts to encourage people to make healthy food choices.
These measures, and more, reflect a shift in how responsibility for health is understood. Rather than relying on individual willpower, Abu Dhabi is redesigning the environment itself – supporting healthier choices through clearer information, quieter cues and smarter systems.
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Why fast food advertising has been banned in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi has banned the advertising of fast food in a bid to improve the health of people in the emirate.
The initiative, led by Healthy Living Abu Dhabi, has been introduced as part of a major health drive aimed at tackling obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases.
Dr AlKhazraji said the restrictions on advertising junk food were introduced to help people make better choices when it comes to personal well-being.
“If you drive across the emirate of Abu Dhabi you're [now] not going to see unhealthy food and beverage promotion,” he said. “We're doing this to influence people's daily lives, so that it's easy and accessible for all citizens and residents to be healthy.”
Did you know?
The UAE is to extend its history-making Mars mission until 2028, five years after the Hope probe was launched into space. Read more here
Scholarship launched to find next generation of young Emirati leaders
A project has been unveiled to help empower young Emiratis and Arab residents in the UAE.
The Zayed Education Foundation's Ruwwad Zayed programme, announced on Monday, aims to “prepare high-potential students to contribute to their communities and respond to complex global challenges”.
In its first year, the programme will offer 50 scholarships at 10 universities in the UAE. “Every generation faces its own challenges, but young people today are confronting them at unprecedented speed and scale,” said Sheikha Mariam bint Mohamed, chairwoman of the Zayed Education Foundation.
“The Ruwwad Zayed programme is designed to help young people develop the grounding and resilience required to lead with confidence, while remaining connected to their identity and committed to the well-being of their communities.”
Emirati Genome Programme makes inherited vision loss breakthrough
The Emirati Genome Programme has identified how a person's genetics can help doctors assess the risk of inherited vision loss in a breakthrough that will boost prevention and precision care.
The findings challenge long-held assumptions about genetic risk, showing that genes linked to inherited eye conditions do not affect everyone in the same way.
The study, conducted by M42 and the Department of Health, analysed genomic data from more than 500,000 Emiratis. It is one of the world's largest population-based investigations of inherited retinal disease.
Rather than estimating how many people are affected, the study focused on how often genetic risk translates into real vision loss.
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