narrator: this week, "global 3000" is in ethiopia, where we're watching globalization at work. we're looking into why chinese companies are relocating production here. and we'll be finding out how farmers in cambodia are responding to climate change and how that affects the rare sarus crane. but first, we go to brazil. a country already reeling from political and economic crisis, brazil is now in the headlines because of a new health threat we know little about, the zika virus. the virus came with the "aedes aegypti" or "yellow fever mosquito." in 2007, on a little island in the pacific, over 100 people came down with zika. this was when virologists first really noticed it. in 2013, the next big outbreak

hit. in french-polynesia, 1/10 of the population came down with it. two years later the virus spread to brazil and has since infected millions. at first, virologists believed an infection was benign, but we now know that's not true. reporter: the heat is stifling in this sparsely furnished apartment. a mother and her two children all sleep in one bed. jaqueline vieira is 25 years old. the doctors say she contracted the zika virus during pregnancy. baby daniel was born four months ago with microcephaly. his head is disproportionately small and his brain underdeveloped. when the father heard that his son would be disabled, he abandoned the family. now she has to take her son to hospital twice a week and is unable to continue her job at a local bakery. it's impossible to make ends meet. jaqueline: it's very frustrating.

at the end of every month i pray, "jesus, please help me!" i need to pay the rent and all the bills. there's nothing left. they say my son needs this and that, but i can't afford it. it's very hard. i'm completely alone. i just force myself to go on. reporter: when it rains in the city of recife, it generally pours. this tropical city in the northwest of brazil is at the epicenter of the zika outbreak. the number of cases here has soared, as has the number of children being born with microcephaly. the mosquito-born virus has raised plenty of questions, and many people up and down the country are anxious. slapping on mosquito repellent is one way of combating brazil's public enemy number one. an enemy that is tiny but insidious. the army is going house to house seeking to eliminate mosquito breeding areas.

we join them in one of the outer suburbs of recife. the brazilian government has deployed some 220,000 soldiers nationwide, working alongside public health officials. more than 10 million homes have been inspected so far. the zika virus is transmitted by the yellow fever mosquito which looks for pools of water to lay its eggs. secretary correia: the effectiveness of these measures is limited. we need to reduce the mosquito population more than ever before and we need to be open to new technology in this area and new strategies for the fighting the mosquitoes. scientists and public health officials need to work together to produce more effective results and improve protection for the people. reporter: during our search for

mosquito breeding grounds, we begin to encounter some of the deep-rooted problems in brazilian society. many of the favelas have no garbage collection. waste simply lands on the streets. brazil's major cities have grown so rapidly that infrastructure has just not kept pace. in recife alone, more than half the homes are not connected to the public sewage system. it's mainly the poor who are falling victim to the virus. and the causes of the epidemic are linked to poverty. dr. bozza: today it's the zika virus. in three years it'll be a new virus, a new epidemic. the dense population of urban areas, combined with social inequality and environmental problems, provides a fertile breeding ground for these viruses and these new diseases.

reporter: the zika virus has now spread to more than two dozen countries across latin america. it is dividing rich and poor. there are reports that pregnant women with the means to pay are going abroad until the birth of their child for fear of contracting the virus. the number of illegal abortions is reportedly also on the rise, particularly among wealthier women. initial studies show over 70% of the children born with suspected microcephaly come from poorer families. marianne is worried she could face the same fate. she's wearing a long-sleeved jacket to protect against mosquitoes. but she says it's just too hot for long trousers. she is eight months pregnant. there's no indication that her daughter could be born with microcephaly, but she's still worried. at home, she's stocked up on anti-mosquito products, which for her are very expensive.

as a hairdresser she earns the equivalent of 230 euros a month and would never buy such things normally. marianne: i'm afraid. i never thought that something like this could happen in brazil. i've never heard talk of an epidemic like this. people are being advised to delay having children, just because of a virus, because of a mosquito. reporter: back to jaqueline vieira. her son daniel is about to go in for treatment. he has a session once a week. she's been lucky, a clinic run by a private foundation is treating him for free. priscila: it was all so unexpected, both for us and for the mothers. many children who've been badly affected cry a lot. treatment can be difficult. but it's important we start early. the initial days following birth

are very important. reporter: stimulation exercises and physiotherapy are not paid for by brazil's public health system. jaqueline vieira is relying instead on the clinic for help and on her faith in god. jaqueline: i hope my son will at least be able to walk and talk. then it will be easier. if he can't walk it'll be very tough. i hope he will walk, talk and be able to communicate. it's all in god's hands. the future belongs to god. reporter: she's refusing to give up, hoping somehow to find a way through all the problems -- with zika and microcephaly and brazil's divide between rich and poor.

narrator: the next phase of globalization. china is a case in point. the country is in transition, moving from being the workbench of the world to higher levels of qualification and more services. and beyond its borders, china is investing more and more in other parts of the world. most of the money is going to other asian countries, but sub-saharan africa ranks second, at over $119 billion u.s. for a long time, it was an exchange of infrastructure for raw materials but now, like here in ethiopia, we're seeing factories that once stood in china. reporter: the early shift is about to start at the world's largest women's shoe manufacturer, located on the outskirts of huanxiang in southern china. the boss has ordered the employees to assemble, and each and every one of them knows their spot. time to march in place.

reporter: attention. look to the right. look straight ahead. good morning! zhang huarong has some important news to deliver. and it isn't good. times are tough and management has come to a decision. some workers will have their wages cut. others will be sacked. zhang: many of you are idle. but until now you've been paid for those boring hours. by doing this you are ruining your precious future and development. i hope all of you understand this. reporter: it's a difficult step, but one that's becoming the norm as china's economy slows. hundreds of plants are already shuttered in and around huanxiang alone. and laid off workers are increasingly taking to the streets in violent protests. the police have responded with force. as the malaise deepens and stock markets plummet, the economic

aftershocks are being felt around the globe. and it's forcing zhang huarong to make tough decisions in hopes of keeping the company in business. he started here 30 years ago as a migrant shoe salesman. china was largely an agrarian nation. how many shoes do you make per year? zhang: china produces eight million pairs of shoes per year domestically and another million internationally. zhang's top flight customers include guess, calvin klein, and mark fisher. his success relies on a workforce willing to labor long hours for meager wages. but over the past 10 years, payrolls have increased 300%, to about 500 euros per month. not much considering the cost of living. but it poses a major problem for manufacturers. zhang: fewer contracts, falling prices. competition is fierce and we're barely making a profit. reporter zhang has called his : top tier of managers together

for a crisis meeting. he may be wearing slippers but the mood is deadly serious. the number crunching begins. which employees are too expensive to keep on the payroll? "i won't squander five years of profits on the workers," he says. the next morning zhang hurries to another meeting, this time with one of his best american customers, ugg boots. zhang is first and foremost a salesman with glib and convincing answers to each of his client's questions and concerns. he's no longer touting goods made in china. rather, another continent with endless supplies of cheap labor -- africa. the american is impressed. it's a negotiation that will have far-reaching effects in the years to come. china became an economic superpower based on cheap labor costs.

but that's a thing of the past. the future lies 8000 kilometers to the west. ethiopia, in a suburb of addis ababa. a massive production facility with capacity for 4000 workers, the very facility that so impressed zhang's american clients. zhang is taking his top management on a tour of the plant. china's king of women's shoes is also doing a quality control check. but the standards and productivity aren't up to expectations. zhang: the culture is more westernized in ethiopia. china has its own unique way of life. for instance, we demand 100% obedience of our employees. here we have to explain and describe work procedures. still, zhang insists on the morning exercise ritual. commands are issued in chinese and the new employees are visibly skeptical.

it's as if an entire factory were boxed up and shipped from china directly to ethiopia. the one major difference -- workers here only earn 50 euros per month. it's time for morning exercises. at first glance it looks a lot like back home. but zhang has big dreams for the years ahead. soon the company will employ 30,000 workers in africa. as business contracts in china, here it expands. and the entrepreneur has no regrets. zhang: when business is good, we hire people. when it slows down, we fire them. in private enterprise, profit is the one and only goal. zhang reveals another secret.

his company owns the surrounding land, almost as far as the eye can see. he plans to build a massive production plant. it will be shaped like a shoe. zhang: i'm very excited. i must achieve this and i will achieve it. it's a very valuable and meaningful project. reporter: and dozens of chinese companies are doing the same -- moving production to the new cheap labor nations in southeast asia and africa. narrator: there's an urgent need for jobs like these that have left china and come to africa. we asked the director of the berlin institute for population and development, reiner klingholz, for his take on the issue. the institute's latest study looks at "jobs for africa." he says china is easy to work with. >> china's approach to development is very successful, when they get involved and aren't just interested in natural resources. that's because it wasn't so long

ago that china itself was a developing country. now it's an emerging economy. so, the chinese know how development works. they've built up industry in some countries, like ethiopia which has been largely neglected. nearly all countries in africa could provide for themselves and even become export nations if they made use of their renewable energies and natural resources. so jobs need to be created, and that's best done through farming. it needs to be an integrated approach, including training, and with the necessary technical equipment so that things can be produced inside the country. with renewable energy now, africa mustn't become totally dependent on importing power generation plants, they need to be made in africa. especially in rural parts of africa that are not yet connected to the power grid, smaller regional grids need to be set up.

there needs to be at least a modest power supply so people can do things like have a light on, run a computer and small-scale machinery, so food can be dried, refrigerated, processed, canned, etc. and there are plenty of major international firms that have experience in the field and want to get involved. companies from the us and from europe that have earned a lot of money from the new economy in recent years. and which, if they're clever, think ahead and realize that if they want to sell their products in africa then there needs to be a power supply and there needs to be training available and technical expertise. what use is a computer program or a computer if you can't run it? the main problem in africa is that job creation is not keeping up with population growth.

uganda is a good example. the president keeps saying that strong population growth means a strong population. but he forgets that the problems grow as the population grows. during this current decade, from 2010 to 2020, 120 million young people will enter the labor market in sub-saharan africa and north africa. and unemployment is already high across these regions and even higher among young people. so, it doesn't look good. but i'm not saying it's hopeless. we've seen again and again that countries once thought hopeless have suddenly undergone a positive development. bangladesh was once the poorest country in the world, it was considered impossible to develop. but bangladesh is now on a very good path. in africa, things are going well in ethiopia.

both bangladesh and ethiopia are sizeable countries with over 100 million people. if their development continues, they could be an example for others to follow. narrator: and now to our "global ideas" series. this time we go to cambodia where the last of the sarus cranes inhabit the lower mekong basin. it's an area that's heavily farmed. our reporter, christian jaburg, took a look at what local farmers are doing differently to improve their own lives and that of the cranes. christian: a pair of sarus cranes with their young one. the juvenile will stay with its parents for a whole year. until the next chick comes. the parents mate for life. it's the dry season in cambodia. there's been no rain for a long

time. but here there are still large wetland areas, the cranes' natural habitat. they share the area with dozens of other species, including wild ducks who often take to the air in huge flocks when startled. this is a protected area, one of the last places of refuge for the birds. chum kea has been a ranger for nearly 10 years. he tries to avoid coming out here where possible, so as not to disturb the shy birds. with growing concern, he's seen human activity gradually encroach on the reserve. adjacent areas are now being farmed. and fertilizers and pesticides are polluting the water. chum: for me it's more than just a job. i'm helping to protect the

cranes. that gives me and my family extra income. but the entire community benefits too. through ecotourism for example, which is slowly developing here. i want the next generation to be able to enjoy the cranes too. christian: a ticket for the lookout post costs $5, including use of the telescope. we visit a second site in cambodia that has been turned into a wildlife reserve. hour pok works for a british-based conservation group. he pays regular visits to this small, remote village. these meadows are also ideal terrain for sarus cranes. so the group has begun an experiment.

in many areas the grass is far too high. so they brought in buffalos to mow it down. the conservation group gave the local farmers seven buffaloes. they've since given birth to three calves. the farmers have put up an electric fence to keep the buffaloes in the right area. hour: we let the buffalo graze here. they eat the high grass or trample it down. and that's good for the cranes. they need short grass as they feed on roots, tubers, insects, and other small prey. so, the buffalo help to expand the cranes' natural feeding area. christian: and the farmers benefit, too. that is essential if villages like this one are to really embrace conservation. there aren't many ways of earning money here and the people are relatively poor.

a few kilometers away, we come to another village, home mainly to rice farmers. here, too, the farmers have learned to tend their rice fields in a way that limits damage to their surroundings, ensuring that fewer toxins are leaked into the nature reserve. once again, the farmers have benefited from the process and are saving money. korng: it makes a huge difference. the harvest is just as good, but we've learned to use less fertilizer and fewer pesticides. we also use less seed. before we needed 300 kilos of seed per hectare, now we use half that. and we can also produce seed ourselves and no longer have to buy it.

narrator: the trainer promises, "in the end, you'll be millionaires," a suggestion that prompts plenty of laughter. people across the region are receiving training from local ngo's, many of them supported by the german government's international climate initiative. the effects of climate change are very evident here. later. then sometimes days worth of rain falls in just a few hours. initially, the farmers responded by using more pesticides and fertilizers to protect their crops. but now they've learned that not every pest has to be treated with chemicals, a practice that is otherwise standard in many rice paddies in cambodia. nget: last year there were lots of pests and diseases in the rice field. because it wasn't as wet, normally when it floods lots of nutrients are washed into the fields. christian: now the focus is on

more natural, low-impact forms of farming. conservation is also becoming an important subject in schools. today these children are learning about the sarus crane. most of them come from farming families. many don't realize that the sarus crane is an endangered species - and that their parents' work can threaten its existence further. it's all done in a fun way, with a quiz and a drawing competition. the children learn how this huge bird sleeps standing up. how there used to be many more of them than there are now, and other fascinating facts. >> the sarus crane is bigger than any other crane in the world. christian: the children quickly begin to warm to this majestic bird that shies away from human contact.

hour: the children go back home and pass on what they've learned to their families. they all live next to the wildlife reserve. so they learn that conservation is important for their future. christian: worldwide, around half of all natural wetlands have already disappeared. only those who recognize the value of this unique habitat will be prepared to invest time and effort in protecting it. and only then will sarus cranes continue to have a future here in the lower mekong wetlands of cambodia. narrator: and that's all we've got time for on this edition of "global 3000." hope you'll join us again next week. and we're always glad to hear from you. write to us at global3000@dw.com or on facebook.

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