Surgo Health and CARE Launch AI-Powered Initiative to Strengthen Frontline Community Health in the Philippines
A catalytic step in transforming frontline health worker voices into real-time intelligence for stronger, more responsive health systems
WASHINGTON, March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- CARE and Surgo Health today announced a new partnership to pilot an AI-enabled system designed to strengthen community health delivery by listening to and learning from frontline health workers in real time. The initiative will integrate Surgo's generative AI platform, Derin™, into CARE's existing HEAL Hub ecosystem to support Barangay Health Workers across the Philippines.
Listening to Frontline Health Workers in Real Time
Frontline health workers are the backbone of primary healthcare in low- and middle-income countries, serving as the critical link between communities and formal health systems. In the Philippines, Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) play an essential role in delivering care, promoting healthy behaviors, and building trust, particularly in underserved areas. Yet their day-to-day experiences, challenges, and insights are rarely captured in ways that allow programs to adapt quickly and effectively.
This partnership aims to change that by piloting a Frontline Health Worker Intelligence System, a digital feedback mechanism that will continuously gather and analyze insights directly from BHWs. The system aims to replace infrequent and resource-intensive focus groups with a scalable, real-time approach that captures both structured data and open-ended reflections through familiar digital channels.
"Frontline health workers hold invaluable knowledge about what works and where systems fall short," said Feven Mekuria, Senior Advisor for Community Health Systems at CARE. "This initiative is about making sure their voices meaningfully inform how programs are designed, supported, and scaled."
"Communities and the people closest to the challenges hold the best solutions, yet their insights are often invisible to systems that need to learn and adapt," said Christian Penotti, CARE's Digital Impact Hub, Executive Director. "By centering real-time feedback from frontline health workers, this partnership embodies our belief in empowering local knowledge to drive sustainable, scalable improvements in public health."
Using AI to Strengthen Community Health Systems
Powered by Derin™, Surgo Health's generative AI and behavioral science platform, the system will use multilingual, AI-enabled chat and voice interfaces to collect and analyze lived experience data, transforming everyday feedback into actionable insights. These insights will help CARE, government counterparts, and donors understand where training and supervision can be strengthened, how support systems can be adapted, and how investments in the frontline workforce translate into improved service delivery.
"This partnership demonstrates how generative AI can be applied responsibly and practically to strengthen health systems, and empower the workforce," said Sema Sgaier, CEO of Surgo Health. "By creating continuous feedback loops from the frontline, we can help programs respond faster, learn smarter, and better support the people delivering care."
Laying the Groundwork for Scalable Health System Learning
The pilot will follow a phased approach, beginning with usability and workflow testing before scaling to approximately 1,000 Barangay Health Workers. Insights generated through the system will inform updates to HEAL Hub content, supervision practices, support mechanisms, and overall program design while also contributing to a government-facing dashboard to inform future policy and investment decisions.
Designed with strong safeguards, ethical oversight, and consent protocols, the initiative prioritizes data privacy, inclusivity, and the responsible use of AI. If successful, the pilot will serve as a blueprint for embedding low-cost, AI-driven feedback systems into community health programs globally.
About Surgo Health
Surgo Health is a P.B.C. building the world's most comprehensive and insightful AI-powered data platform that reveals the 'why' behind people's behaviors. We uncover the unseen drivers of health—people's beliefs, barriers, and behaviors—and transform that intelligence into scalable products that enable healthcare organizations to drive impact, reduce costs, and advance equity. From improving clinical trial design to optimizing care delivery and public health strategies, our solutions help decision-makers act on what truly shapes health outcomes. By revealing the human side of healthcare, we're making it more personal, precise, and effective—for everyone.
About CARE
Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE PACKAGE® box, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside women and girls. Equipped with the proper resources, women and girls have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. In 2025, CARE worked in 121 countries, reaching 58.7 million people through 1,467 projects. To learn more, visit www.care.org.
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SOURCE Surgo Health, PBC
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