The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr ST Cornelius gave a historical background on the establishment of the OBP and an overview of the Institute's mandate. He mentioned that OBP was part of the Onderstepoort Veterinary Research Institute (OVRI), which was established in 1908 and included the ARC's OVI and the OBP. He reported that the animal vaccine manufacturing facility at the then OVRI was established in 1968. In 1992, vaccine manufacturing was separated from the Research Institute, which later became the ARC's OVI and the OBP was launched as an SOE responsible for animal vaccine manufacturing. He said the OBP remains the only manufacturer of animal vaccines in the country and other suppliers import vaccines. In his presentation, Dr Cornelius mentioned that OBP has very old and outdated infrastructure and equipment, which constraints the entity's ability to meet the demand for vaccines. He reported that a presentation has been made to DAFF and the National Treasury for additional funding to manufacture orphan vaccines (i.e. the vaccines that OBP has to manufacture at their own cost for public good). He further reported that OBP needs approximately R1.2 billion to upgrade and modernise its facilities and have been allocated R492 million by National Treasury for the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) period.