anchor: how do you go about occupying a chunk of the sea? by building your own island, that's how. it might sound far-fetched, but that's exactly what china is doing in the south china sea, far away from the chinese mainland. and the neighbors? all they can do is watch. welcome to "global 3000," which is looking something like this -- trash and desperation. the long hard battle for haiti's future. should health have a price? hepatitis c is curable, but only if you happen to be rich.

and pomegranates in a glass. the journey of armenian fruit around the world. now, who amongst us isn't keen to possess a pacific island or two? in the case of the spratly islands, however, their desirability has as least as much to do with geo-politics as it does with holiday brochures. china, the philippines, taiwan, vietnam, malaysia, and brunei all lay claim to the islands, and with them the oil that is thought to be lying underneath the seabed. the fact that the area, some 180,000 square kilometers in total, is right near some of the world's most important shipping lanes only increases their strategic importance. so important are the islands, in fact, that china is shoring-up its claim in a drastically literal fashion. and neighbors like the philippines are powerless to stop it.

reporter: an excursion to the spratlys doesn't happen every day. not for the military and certainly not for the press. two hours from the capital, heading south. the general staff boards the plane. it's another 75 minutes to pagasa, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. then, a short lesson in geopolitics. >> pagasa is a municipality of palawa. and palawa is a province of the republic of the philippines. and therefore, pagasa is a territory of the republic of the philippines. reporter: it's printed like that on t-shirts, so nobody forgets. because where there's military, there's also propaganda. pag-asa' means hope. this hope is the size of fifty football fields and lies in the west philippine sea, what china would call the south china sea.

where, in full view, reefs, atolls, and islets are being leveled to be incorporated into chinese territory, more than 1000 kilometers from china's mainland. it's all about natural resources, fishing areas and geostrategies. and that's making the philippine army at its outposts uneasy. admiral alexander lopez of the philippine army insisits that what's happening in subi is the same that's happening to the other areas. they're trying to build these things not for legal reasons but for military purposes and that's very alarming. where once there was nothing -- entire ports, buildings the size of stadiums, and airstrips in the service of airspace sovereignty are all being built. it's a modern land grab, under the motto, "don't ask, take." the philippines would like the un's permanent court on arbitration to settle the dispute with china. and the us, a close ally of the philippines, says it's considering boosting its military presence in the region. beijing has shown the cold shoulder to us secretary of state john kerry.

>> i want to make it clear, china is solid as a rock when it comes to its sovereignty and its territorial unity. it's the will of the people and our right. reporter: china hasn't even sent its navy to the region, just its coast guard. the message -- there's nothing to fight over. the rusty old sierra madre warship poses no danger. grounded on a reef, a handful of philippine soldiers are holding the fort as a last bastion. poorly guarded and poorly supplied. >> this here belongs to us and we have the order to guard it. we're ready. and whatever happens to our lives, we'll accept it. reporter: china is whipping up lots of sand in this territorial dispute and threatening to simply wash away the philippines. even pagasa is claimed by china.

the philippines recognized the strategic importance of the former no-man's land and occupied the island in the 1970s. it has a police station, a school, a clinic. the 200 island residents do well by philippine standards. and they've never worried about the chinese rolling over them. >> no, since we've been here the chinese haven't shown their faces at all. if anything, they fish in the breakers, but they've not been on the island. >> we're normal citizens. we have no control over our future. government heads and officials worry about that. reporter: it could be strategically advantageous to focus on the beauty of the spratlys. tourism could bring in money and may dissuade china from possible encroachment. it's worked for the settlers so

far. the local mayor has his own ideas. >> by shuttle to ferry the passengers or tourists to that place. and then we're buying a sail boat and so by booking they can be assisted to go to pagasa or any island of kalayaan. reporter: china's method for cultivating the island looks much different and it's not losing a second. pagasa has just four hours of electricity a day. the residents say that they can see china's building sites where the light burn all night, seven days a week. at the end of the excursion, the company eats under a tent before flying out of the west philippine sea or the south china sea, depending on your viewpoint. a final glance from the airplane window at the islands below, where everything looks as peaceful as ever. anchor: our next report also

comes from an island. just the one this time, but split into two. on the eastern side, the dominican republic. a popular tourist destination, and the largest economy in the caribbean and central america region. on the western side, haiti. very few tourists have ventured here since the devastating earthquake of 2010. the landscape is scarred by deforestation and mountains of man-made rubbish. in such a context where life has become a daily struggle for survival, only very few people have the energy and tenacity to fight for a better future. reporter: nobody cleans up the beach and there's no trash collection. haiti is one of the most densely populated countries on earth. in recent years the population has doubled to more than 10 million people.

houses, streets, and bridges were destroyed by the earthquake five years ago. many people have to live on less than a dollar a day. jean wiener is a marine biologist. returned home. more than 20 years ago he founded the foundation for the protection of marine biodiversity. jean: seeing all the trash on the beach like this -- i can't even really describe it. i mean when i used to go to the beach when i was younger it was pretty clean in most places but nothing like this. this is just an environmental disaster and it doesn't just stay here. it also travels through the oceans, it ends up in other countries, and i think we'll

have a real problem. reporter: the people in cap haitien and the neighboring villages live from fishing, but the men usually just find garbage in their nets. the foundation, together with local authorities, has already established five marine protection zones so fish stocks can recover. jean: i voice liked -- i've always liked nature, i've always been in the water in the ocean all the time when my family would take me when i was younger to the beach. so it's kind of natural i think that i fell in love with the ocean. reporter: protecting the oceans requires a lot of persuasion. because the men still fish, even though the area has long been identified as a protected zone. [speaking foreign language]

>> we've never really argued about it. we all know that he is one of us and knows about the plants and animals here. we want to protect the mangroves and the area, but it's not that easy. reporter: it's a difficult situation. the family wants to eat, but it's become difficult to survive. everything is more expensive and we can hardly afford anything. we're hungry. reporter: so protecting the oceans isn't a priority. poverty is too great. and yet it's in the fishermen's best interest to improve the situation. jean: heavy overfishing, there is an enormous amount of overfishing going on and that's one of the issues which we're also trying to tackle. in that they're using inappropriate methods, both in terms of gear and seasons. reporter: us area, along with five others, is to become a protected area.

although the paperwork was signed long ago, the regulation is largely ignored. the fishing continues. on the land itself, things are no longer what they used to be. more than 90% of haiti's forests have been cleared -- a catastrophe for environmentalists. now the mangroves are to be chopped down. the wood is burned and used to produce charcoal, which the locals use for cooking. most people have neither electricity nor gas. jean: people aren't being provided viable options. in haiti for example, if you were to provide propane gas at a decent price that can compete with charcoal and provide a wide enough distribution for it, and then outlaw the cutting of trees for charcoal production, it should be fine. reporter: reforestation is under

way but it will be years before the mangroves recover. to provide more food, fruit trees are being planted. the foundation is giving away or selling at cost orange and lemon trees and other seedlings. but few people seem to be interested. jean: it's extremely frustrating. people should perhaps be doing this on their own. it doesn't cost much, it's not highly technical, and yet a lot of people just don't seem to be doing it. so i don't know if it's something which happened culturally down the line, but it's something which we really need to have people get much more involved in. reporter: still, it's not easy. people are resisting or they don't trust aid organizations. the bees also need help. their honey is already sold in the village. fishermen are encouraged to learn the trade.

so far the long-time beekeeper has found just one former fisherman who's prepared to learn to keep bees. >> i'm totally happy with my bees and we really like the honey. here in the village there aren't many people who want to learn to be beekeepers. they're afraid they'll get stung. so far i just have one gentleman as a student and he's just started. reporter: it's becoming more difficult for young people to stay. many have left for the us or neighboring countries. jean wiener thinks haiti needs to change its policies. jean: without your environment you have nothing. i mean your social development, your economic development and all of that is linked to having a healthy environment and the environment in haiti, as far as i'm concerned is still very much worth saving.

reporter: that's why he's continuing, despite all the resistance. anchor: for more information about haiti, you can follow us on twitter. there is no vaccine against hepatitis c. the infectious disease, which affects primarily the liver, is spread via blood-to-blood contact associated with intravenous drug use, poorly sterilized medical equipment, and transfusions. north african countries are particularly hard hit by the disease, which is also common in china and mongolia. there is good news. there is a cure. a pill which has the power to rid patients of the disease -- often in a mere matter of weeks. but there's a catch. for most hepatitis c sufferers, the pills are simply too expensive. >> it's like now i feel like that, you know, what i did when i was 40. and that i can do stuff i was thinking i was gonna never do it

again. reporter: more than 30 years ago, tom stephens had a motorcycle accident. he was infected with hepatitis c during a blood transfusion. in recent years his liver values kept getting worse. he was always tired and down in the dumps. his wife, june, had little hope. tom: when you're right up towards the end and they call it your viral load -- how they measure what kind of damage the hep c is doing to you -- you know you're in big trouble. it's not just like, well, i just don't feel well, now that you're in a serious fight now. reporter: the 67-year-old was lucky. an aquaintance worked in the research division at gilead, a bio-tech company. stephens was able to participate in clinical tests for the new drug. now he is healthy again, thanks to the harvoni treatment. one drug is revolutionizing the global market.

it's a curse and a blessing. this public clinic in oakland treats people who have inadequate or no health insurance. many patients are drug addicts. james jensen was infect with hepatitis c when he was still a child, but it wasn't discovered until he was much older. he's placing all his hope in harvoni, because other drugs don't work. diana sylvestre helped him fill out the insurance application forms. but they were rejected several times. james: i felt i was being thrown under the bus, because i had done my side financially and also complying to the medications that i needed to take. being left undone, being left alone and basically abandoned made me feel alone and hurt.

reporter: treatment with harvoni and sovaldi, the other hepatitis drug made by gilead, is very expensive. a treatment cycle of eight to 12 weeks can cost up to $100,000. the world health organizations estimates production costs at $150. >> it does seem to me that the new treatment is extremely expensive and the impact of that is that the insurers don't want to give it to us. so that's a big problem. but in all honesty, the treatment works so well that when we do get a patient through treatment it seem that the cost is well worth it. reporter: that's how the people at gilead's california headquarters see it, too. at the end of 2011, management announced a takeover. for $11 billion, gilead acquired the small bio-tech company pharmasset. it was an investment that was well worth it because pharmasset had developed the active ingredients for the drugs.

in the first year since since it got approval to sell the drugs, gilead's sales have skyrocketed, thanks largely to sovaldi und harvoni. 2014 profits hit $12 billion. and harvoni has just been on the market since last fall. for the w.h.o., the drug represents a revolution in hepatitis treatment. that's why gilead's chief science officer finds the criticism of the pricing unfounded. >> our philosophy about pricing is we price in tiers. so, for those countries that are high on the economic development index like europe and the united states, we price it higher, and for those countries that are on the lower end, we price it much lower. for instance in egypt, the total of one course of treatment is $900 us, which is a fraction of what it costs in europe and the us. reporter: the average annual

income in egypt is about $3140. 25% live below the poverty line. nearly 15% of egyptians are infected. nowhere else in the world is hepatitis c so widespread. but even in the us, most patients can't afford the drugs. together with the states, medicaid funds health care for the poorest americans. around half of the 3.2 million people with hepatitis c receive this aid. the president of medicaid talks about a tsunami of costs. >> it causes a real ethical challenge for the states and the plans that provide this healthcare coverage. states have to make very hard decisions about who should get access to this drug and they have to make tough decisions about when they get access to the drug, which means all the folks that are suffering from this disease have to get in queue. reporter: some states are already spending 1/6 of their budgets just for hepatitis c

drugs made by gilead. >> you know it's a challenge, you have to remember that there are 160 million people wordwide infected with hepatitis c and it is just not as easy doing one, two, three to give it to 160 million people. but we hope over the next 10-15 years most of the people that need it have access to it. reporter: a seemingly infinite market with infinite profits for the manufacturer. and hepatitis c is just one disease. >> i think it is the tip of the iceberg. there are a lot of other products coming down on the marketplace -- cures for alzheimer, cancer, and cholesterol, all of which the plans and the states will have to manage. so this was a wake up call to everybody that the pharmaceutical industry really does price at the extreme margin once in a while on certain drugs when they can. anchor: and a quick piece of information for viewers in

germany -- insurance companies here were able to negotiate the price of sovaldi treatment down from 60,000 euros to 41,000 euros. southern armenia is home to a veritable fruit garden. lush valleys in which everything grows. figs, pomegranates, peaches -- it's a fruit-lover's paradise. there's only one problem. the roads are so bad that transporting surplus fruit out of the region simply isn't viable. turning the fruit into jam or canning it could provide the solution, but that would mean investment, and banks have been loathe to touch such an out-of-the-way region. now, however, public investors have stepped in to fill the breach, and their faith is paying off big time. reporter: nearly 400 kilometers from the capital yerevan, on the border to iran, lies the town of meghri. the roads are in poor condition. in winter the city is sometimes

cut off from the rest of the world. unemployment is high. the region is famous for its fruit. products in demand on the global market, like figs, cherries, peaches, and especially pomegranates, grow here in abundance. pomegranates are among the first fruits cultivated by humans. the small local canning factory processes the fruit. whether in chunks, as purée, or juice, armenian fruits are especially popular in russia and north america. things looked a lot different five years ago. the cannery urgently needed cash for necessary investment, just like many other companies in the country. >> generally in armenia, getting a loan is a rather labor-consuming, lengthy, and

difficult process. the banks will never provide a loan unless they are 100% convinced the money will be repaid. reporter: eventually, the company found an investor for a new bottling plant and other factory upgrades. freda is armenia's first investment fund focusing on rural areas. it's financed and monitored by the armenian government and ifad, the international fund for agricultural development. the main mission of freda is poverty reduction and alleviation. we want to develop our companies, to enlarge their business, to make it more profitable from one side and also we want to help our farmers that are working in the rural areas to produce more, to sell more, to earn more, to overcome the poverty issues. with freda's support, the factory in meghri was not only able to increase production

five-fold, hygiene and safety now meet international standards. the company's exports have increased 80%. the canning factory desperately needed new employees and there were plenty of people in meghri looking for work. >> a lot has changed in my life. i hadn't worked for 21 years. we had very little to live on and it was very difficult. now i can already take care of my needs. reporter: the program has also helped farmers in the valley. >> my life has improved. what has changed? i grow the harvest. it doesn't spoil. i don't throw anything away. it becomes money and we live off that money and use it to meet our needs. reporter: so the expansion of the cannery has been very beneficial to everyone. the program is also planning to

invest in infrastructure. residents of meghri are hoping for a new street that will be accessible even in winter. anchor: and with a new road, who knows? maybe they'll be able to export fresh fruit, too. just as long as there's enough left over for canning. that's all from this edition of "global 3000." we're back again next week, but if you'd like to hear more from us in the meantime, then look us up on facebook or check out our webpage -- dw.de/english/global3000. thanks for watching. goodbye.

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