By Wallace Mawire/Zimbabwe/Lusaka
Lebo Radebe, Chief Executive Officer of the African Manufacturers Foundation (AMF) says a window of untold opportunity has opened for the African continent that continental leaders and manufacturers must not let it slip because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity that does not come knocking on the door twice and its miss will be devastating to the continent as seen during Covid-19.
He said in a recent statement that the former Vaccine Manufacturing Innovation Center within the world-renowned Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire in the United Kingdom is up for sale or alternatively for lease.
Radebe said the massive center measuring 171,619 square feet went into the market late 2025 and as the African Manufacturing Foundation (AMF) they believe African governments and business leaders should not be caught napping on it considering how the continent was caught off guard by the recent Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.
He said the continent watched as the West was hoarding vaccine and prioritising their own people while African states went scrambling to secure expensive vaccine as people continued to die. Now here is a chance to be on par with the first world countries and prepared when another pandemic hits.
Radebe believes it is not an opportunity the African continent can afford to ignore and lose, considering the location of the vaccine center and the expertise it will be exposed to.
He said it will bolster the capabilities of the African Center for Disease Control (ACDC) in the African led efforts to prevent disease and respond promptly to pandemic outbreaks.
“Our leaders must not dare let us down on this one. This is an opportunity of a lifetime that must be grabbed with both hands otherwise we will find ourselves in the same position as with the Covid-19 where we had to wait for leftovers to give our people vaccines,” said Radebe.
Radebe believes African nations should band together and secure the facility due to its importance in the fight against pandemics and would play a vital role for the continent’s research in the future.
According to AMF, the facility is located within Harwell where technology and research are at the center of everything.
He said it is highly regarded as a unique combination of world-leading research and technology facilities that support teams and businesses to reach full potential.
AMF said on its website, Harwell captures proximity beautifully when it says it sparks unexpected collaborations, breaks down barriers and connects ideas with people who can implement them, resulting in faster innovations and solutions that wouldn’t emerge in isolation.
The Foundation said that is exactly what Africa needs and it is what Africa will get by operating in the world-renowned technology and research center.
Radebe said the benefits are immeasurable.
It is said the center is designed for pandemic preparedness with a capacity to manufacture up to 2560 million doses of vaccines annually and focuses on respiratory vaccines, specifically Covid-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus.
“With its reputation in innovation, development and manufacturing of vaccines, the facility has the distinct potential of being the central point to prepare the continent for future pandemics,” said Radebe.
According to available statistics, the pandemic left a trail of destruction across the continent with confirmed deaths just over a quarter of million and South Africa recording the highest number.
It is for that reason, says Radebe, that African governments and all interested business should sit around the table and snap the facility before other continents beat them to it.
He said since the outbreak of the pandemic all the continents have taken hard lessons and are preparing for the future.
AMF said while the continent has focused on enhancing vaccine manufacturing capabilities, strengthening regional disease surveillance and improving local, sustainable health supply chain nothing comes close to the opportunity presented by the United Kingdom based facility.
AMF said Europe for its part is said to have developed the European Health Union focusing on strengthening disease prevention and control, and creating platforms for faster medical counter measures.
They said Asia on the other hand has invested heavily in digital health technologies for contact tracing and monitoring while South America worked on diversifying vaccine production capabilities.
Independently, countries are said to be actively negotiating international pandemic agreements to improve collaboration, data sharing and resource allocation for future health crises.
But for Africa, AMF, says the strength lies in working together and securing the facility as it should be the first step towards that journey.
AMF said the future generations cannot be put through what the present generation went through with the Covid-19.
