There will be an advanced vaccine factory in Africa

It seems that while the UK government has not lifted a finger to spread the manufacture of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine (let alone a more generalised facility), US companies have been more proactive. Moderna is looking for sites in Africa for a factory and Pfizer is shipping the drug substance of the BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to South Africa's Biovac. South Africans themselves have taken a vaccine initiative with a manufacturing campus opened last month. 

The most promising development is in Rwanda.

The BioNTech plan involves the construction in Germany of a containerized manufacturing unit that will then be installed in Rwanda, shortening the construction period for a vaccine facility by at least a year and lowering the risk of delays. Initially, the facility will be managed and operated by BioNTech staff. But the ownership and expertise will be transferred over time to local operations. At present, such expertise does not exist in Rwanda and, based on the experience of Biovac in South Africa, could take a decade to develop.

The significant part of the deal is that

for the first time, the drug substance, or active ingredient for a COVID-19 vaccine – in this case mRNA – will be manufactured on the continent. mRNA for the COVID-19 vaccine is currently being manufactured only in the US and Europe.

Rwanda may not be a liberal democracy but does have a sound economy and less financial corruption than most on the continent. One expects their facility to be built expeditiously and run efficiently.