‘Cheap’ goods come at a heavy cost for Africa. The real price of a mobile phone or computer is measured in broken health and damaged ecosystems. Cobalt and lithium, essential for today’s gadgets, are mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo using child labour. Instead of going to school, tens of thousands of children and teenagers work in hazardous mines, sacrificing their health for a meagre wage, while transnational corporations control supply chains and pocket enormous profits.
The drive for low-cost raw materials also causes catastrophic damage to the environment: rivers are polluted, fertile soils are ruined, forests are cut down. In the end, Africa is forced to import goods produced from its own raw materials – extracted at the expense of the health and future of its people.
