Health Update: Health Update: Wellness & Longevity Forum at WHX – What Experts Say– What Experts Say.
WHX brought together more than 4,300 exhibitors and recorded 235,000 professional visits from over 180 countries
The UAE is reshaping its healthcare system around prevention and proactive healthspan optimization. This responds to global evidence that people are living longer but spending more of those years in poor health.
Data from the World Health Organization shows that while life expectancy continues to rise, healthy life expectancy is not keeping pace. As a result, there is a global healthspan–lifespan gap of roughly 9.6 years in which individuals live with illness or disability.
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Wellness & Longevity Forum takes center stage at WHX
This strategic shift framed discussions at the Wellness & Longevity Forum, held on the final day of the World Health Expo (WHX) at the Dubai Exhibition Center. WHX brought together more than 4,300 exhibitors and recorded 235,000 professional visits from over 180 countries. Additionally, the forum was hosted on the Frontiers Stage and examined how education, clinical practice, and regulatory systems must evolve to support longer, healthier lives.
Speakers highlighted the UAE’s growing emphasis on prevention, early detection, value‑based care, and clear regulatory pathways such as Dubai’s Salama program and Abu Dhabi’s world‑first standards for Healthy Longevity Medicine Centers. Together, these frameworks are laying the foundation for a specialized healthspan workforce. Moreover, they create a scalable global model for safe, credible longevity medicine.
Dr Mishkat Shehata, Founding Member and Vice President, Emirates Lifestyle & Longevity Medicine Society, Chief Medical Officer, OMICS, said that the UAE has a unique opportunity to lead globally. The country can set the blueprint for how longevity medicine is taught, regulated, and delivered.
“Through its strong focus on prevention, innovation, and governance supported by structured physician education via bodies such as the Emirates Lifestyle & Longevity Medicine Society (ELLMS) and the responsible integration of AI for clinical decision-making and care delivery, the UAE can define international standards for healthspan medicine that combine clinical excellence, multidisciplinary care, and patient safety at scale.”
Garineh Serpekian, Associate Director of Coaching, PURA Longevity Clinic, highlighted the importance of translating clinical insight into sustainable daily behavior and ensuring professional standards are clearly defined as the field expands. She also emphasized the importance of accredited education pathways in building trust and credibility.
“Institutions such as the CNM Institute of Natural Health, operating under the patronage of Sheikha Salama bint Tahnoon Al Nahyan, are playing a pivotal role in training health coaches in the UAE.
“Accredited educational pathways help protect both patients and practitioners, while recognized certifications ensure practice is grounded in defined competencies, ethical standards and evidence-based frameworks, building trust in this rapidly expanding field.”
Ross Williams, Commercial Director, Informa Markets Healthcare, said: “What we are seeing at WHX is a clear market signal. Wellness and longevity are no longer niche conversations. They are becoming central to how healthcare systems, investors and providers think about sustainability and long-term value.
“The growing importance of wellness and longevity is clearly reflected across WHX, from the learning opportunities on our stages to the innovation showcased by exhibitors.”
Building skills for the longevity era
A panel titled “Educating for the Longevity Era: Building Skills and Systems for Healthspan Medicine” explored how accredited training, multidisciplinary care teams, and longitudinal patient engagement are becoming essential as healthcare systems shift from treatment to prevention‑led care.
Innovation on display at WHX
Across the exhibition floor, international companies showcased technologies supporting prevention and cognitive health.
Masimo presented SafetyNet, a cloud‑based remote monitoring and telehealth platform designed to extend patient oversight beyond hospital settings.
New Country Healthcare LLC highlighted Magtein, a patented magnesium compound shown in laboratory studies to cross the blood–brain barrier and support learning, memory, and mood regulation.