The Estijaba platform contributed to enhancing the emirate's leading response to the COVID-19 pandemic by collecting and analysing information and data related to active cases and monitoring absorptive capacities in all healthcare facilities. The platform serves as an important tool by providing the necessary information for decision makers, allowing them to effectively and efficiently enhance the measures put in place to combat the pandemic and maintain the health and wellbeing of all members of the community. The platform also enhances cooperation and joint actions between Abu Dhabi’s healthcare facilities, by enabling them to exchange statistics and vital information in turn improving the quality and ease of access to healthcare services.

DoH and ADPHC won the Information Management Award for Malaffi, the first Health Information Exchange (HIE) platform in the region and one of DoH’s strategic initiatives. Malaffi safely and securely connects the public and private healthcare providers in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. It enables the meaningful, real-time exchange of important information regarding patients’ health between healthcare providers, creating a centralised database of unified patient records which will highly contribute to improving the quality of healthcare and patient outcomes
Malaffi has played an integral role in bolstering the emirate’s response to the pandemic. The platform entralisedpatient information in a single database for COVID-19 test results in the emirate. Malaffi also enables frontline healthcare workers to manage patient vaccination data within the emirate, which ensures that patients receive the right dose at the right time, no matter which location they receive their vaccination in the emirate.

Commenting on this achievement, H.E Dr. Jamal Mohammed Alkaabi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health Abu Dhabi, said: “Abu Dhabi’s leading technological infrastructure and the overall healthcare efforts in the emirate, under the guidance and support of our wise leadership, were behind the emirate’s successful response to the pandemic. Abu Dhabi leveraged advanced technological initiatives and platforms, such as Estijaba and Malaffi, to solidify the emirate’s position as one of the leading cities in the world when it comes to the pandemic response.”

Alkaabi added: “We are proud to see Abu Dhabi’s unique initiatives and programmes garnering regional and international recognition and appreciation. It is clear that Abu Dhabi has been able to set a leading example when it comes to readiness and quick employment of digital innovation to combat and tackle the pandemic. Abu Dhabi continues to deliver world-class healthcare services to the community in line with the highest levels of quality and efficiency.”

His Excellency Matar Saeed Al Nuaimi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Public Health Center, praised the Health sector teams’ efforts which deserves this recognition and said, “Despite the recent establishment of Abu Dhabi Public Health Center in 2019, it took take a leading role in the response to the Covid 19 pandemic, with automated response programs that supported in achieving speed, proactiveness and responding to the changes of the ongoing pandemic . Estijaba program is a live operations platform that monitors all Covid19 aspects 24/7, that offered logistic and medical support to patients in all UAE regions. We are determined to provide a level that matches Abu Dhabi and the UAE, while developing our health capabilities during response processes. His excellency added: “Abu Dhabi Public Health Center has received several important awards in a short period of time, and this has contributed to establishing Abu Dhabi's position globally as an incubator for scientific research, innovation, digital initiatives and technology, which was reflected in health and safety of community members and visitors.”

Atif Al Braiki, the Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Health Data Services, the operator of Malaffi, said: “We have successfully connected all public and private hospitals in the Emirate to Malaffi in a record time and it is already supporting the delivery of better care. We also witnessed the benefits of connected healthcare during the pandemic, when real-time insights through Malaffi supported the authorities make data-driven decisions and achieve the globally recognised successful response. This award is another testament to our commitment to implementing a world-class HIE platform as key to the digital transformation of the healthcare system in Abu Dhabi.”

Both DoH, and ADPHC recently won eight prestigious awards at the 9th Annual 2021 CEO Awards as part of the Globee® Business Awards. The accolades were awarded in recognition of the emirate’s excellence and leadership in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The emirate's strategy was to raise awareness and employ digital solutions in its efforts to control the pandemic's impact on community health and safety.

Abu Dhabi continues to top the world’s rankings for its response to the pandemic, being recognised on a list of 72 leading world cities issued by London-based Deep Knowledge Group, confirming the emirate’s innovative healthcare sector. Over the last few years, Abu Dhabi has been able to consolidate itself as a pioneer in scientific research, digital initiatives and technology and a leading destination for medical tourism. Abu Dhabi came in the highest ranking for measures that contributed to enhancing the speed and effectiveness of its pandemic response. As a result of these measures, the health and safety of the community was preserved in addition to maintaining a robust and open economy. Abu Dhabi’s proactive response to the pandemic ensured that the emirate maintained a low rate of positive cases, and one of the lowest mortality rates per capita in the world, while adapting and scaling up healthcare provision to protect every member of society.

Following the recent success of the Technology Excellence Awards in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and China, the award ceremony was brought to the Middle East in order to highlight the distinguished programmes, projects and digital technology solutions in the region and honour the teams behind them.