African leaders and manufacturers have been urged to jointly acquire a major vaccine production facility in the United Kingdom described as a rare opportunity to strengthen the continent’s pandemic preparedness and research capacity.
The call was made by Lebo Radebe, Chief Executive Officer of the African Manufacturers Foundation, following the listing for sale or lease of a former Vaccine Manufacturing Innovation Centre located within the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.
The 171,619-square-foot facility was placed on the market in late 2025. Radebe warned that failure by African governments and investors to secure the site could see the continent miss what he described as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” recalling how African nations struggled to access vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic while wealthier countries prioritized their own populations.
He said acquiring the facility would significantly strengthen the capabilities of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in coordinating African-led responses to disease outbreaks.
According to Radebe, the Harwell-based centre is designed specifically for pandemic readiness and can manufacture up to 2.56 billion vaccine doses annually, focusing on respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus. He added that its location within a globally respected science and technology hub would expose African researchers and manufacturers to world-class expertise, partnerships and innovation networks.
He stressed that collaboration among African states and private investors would be essential to secure the facility before buyers from other regions move in, noting that continents worldwide have intensified investments in health security since the pandemic. Europe, he said, has pursued initiatives such as the European Health Union to improve disease prevention and rapid response, while Asian countries have expanded digital health monitoring systems and South American states have diversified vaccine production.
Available data indicate that COVID-19 caused more than a quarter of a million confirmed deaths across Africa, with South Africa recording the highest toll.
Radebe argued that the experience underscored the risks of relying on external suppliers for critical medical countermeasures.
He added that collective action to obtain the UK facility could mark a turning point in Africa’s quest for self-reliance in vaccine development and manufacturing, warning that future generations should not face the same vulnerabilities exposed during the last global health crisis.
