SSDI supported the Government of Malawi to achieve its vision of improving the health status of all Malawians. The goal of SSDI is to support, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, effective integration and delivery of quality services under the Expanded Health Promotion (EHP) initiative, and to strengthen the national health system in line with the HSSPII.

The EHP promotes the provision of a basic, cost-effective package of promotive, preventive,curative and rehabilitative health services determined on the basis of scientific and practicalexperience in service delivery and its ability to have a significant impact on the health statusof the majority of people in Malawi.SSDI was guided by the principles of country ownership and leadership, integration for greater efficiency, and building on existing systems and past achievements. SSDI focuses on a comprehensive program of support in 15 districts (Nsanje, Phalombe, Chikhwawa, Machinga,Mangochi, Mulanje, Balaka, Zomba, Salima, Nkhotakota, Dowa, Kasungu, Lilongwe, Chitipaand Karonga) located in each of the country’s five health zones. This five-year project (October1, 2011-September 30, 2016) has the central theme,‘Together we build healthy families’.