The ministry was created on October 5, 1935, through Law Decree 8124, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Peruvian medical researcher
Daniel Alcides Carrión. Created as the
Ministry of Public Health, Works and Social Precaution (), it incorporated the Directorate of Public Health, and the sectors of Work, Social Precaution, and Indian Affairs, all belonging to the
Ministry of Development and Public Works. It additionally assumed the functions of the Department of Philanthropy, which at the time belonged to the
Ministry of Justice. The first Minister of Health was . In 1942, the ministry changed its name to the
Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (). This name remained until 1968, when it adopted its current name. In 2003, it incorporated the
Medicinal Botanical Garden of Lima, created in 1991, into its National Institute of Health. From 2020 onwards, the ministry oversaw a large part of the government's response to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Peru. ==Organisation==