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SHS's founding editor is Hannah Kikaya, a long-time former Lancet senior editor who has also worked extensively for the World Health Organization and the World Bank. The journal was established in 2014 with the aim of filling the health knowledge gap - a term coined to descibe the stark absence of evidence for health system design and reform, in contrast to the extensive literature for both diseases and medical interventions. The journal's editorial board is uniquely composed of representatives from three constitutencies: academia; policy making and international organisations; and implementers. The intention of bringing together such a diverse group is to bridge the divides between these key actors in health system strengthening and to facilitate consensus on how to best apply the conventions of scientific publishing to the practice of health and development.
In 2016, the Southern African Journal of Public Health was incorporated into Strengthening Health Systems Journal. Prof Debashis Basu joined by a team of public health experts/academics from a number of health science faculties across Africa serve on the editorial board.