It was founded in 1966 and is the leading center for Gastroenterology in Cuba. With nearly half a century of existence, it has a long history in the diagnosis and treatment of digestive tract disorders.

It is a center of Tertiary level health care, and since its creation, it has stood out in the training of professionals dedicated to Gastroenterology, who successfully take this specialty everywhere, inside and outside the country. Pediatric Gastroenterology also finds great support and invaluable development here.

It is characterized as a center of prominence in the field of research; among other topics, the study of liver diseases is gaining strength and showing important results. Since its founding, the institute has graduated most of the gastroenterologists in the country, has been the center of reference in the specialty of Gastroenterology, and has developed some of the endoscopic procedures that are performed in Cuba today.