♪ heads to the philippines, where president duterte is waging a deadly drug war. users are doing whatever it takes to escape it. in the u.s., an opioid epidemic is sweeping the country. millions are addicted to heroin and prescription painkillers, but help for addicts is hard to come by. first we go to mexico, where one state is trying to tackle corruption with a female-only traffic unit. more than six billion people live in a country with a serious corruption problem. this costs developing nations an estimated $1 trillion u.s. per year. but the global fight against corruption is gathering pace. in russia, young people have been taking to the streets.

in south korea, public demonstrations helped topple the president, who's now standing trial on graft charges. there's also growing unrest in morocco, where thousands have been protesting government corruption and abuse of power. for months now, people in brazil have been demonstrating in support of a police probe into high-level embezzlement and bribery. in mexico, meanwhile, corruption is part and parcel of everyday life. reporter: it's 6:30 in the morning and time for the boss to be picked up. 400 traffic police officers are under the command of commandante rosalba. her unit is made up entirely of women. their job is to restore public faith in the police force.

the morning ritual is always the same -- rosalba urges her troops to respect the rights of citizens. such respect is not always a given among mexican police. commandante rosalba travels hundreds of kilometers every day, keeping an eye on the policewomen under her command. her goal is to ensure there are no mistakes. rosalba: we're not as corrupt as perhaps some of our male colleagues. as a woman, i feel a sense of responsibility. i know very well that if i do something wrong, i can lose my job. reporter: rosalba isn't afraid to intervene personally where necessary. here, a truck is blocking the street. the chief directs the traffic herself, until a patrol unit arrives to take over.

not all of rosalba's policewomen are immune to corruption. there have been individual cases of wrongdoing, drawing a tough response. this truck driver is issued a ticket. there is no protest, and no offer of a bribe. men seem unwilling to try and strike a deal with the female police officers. >> there are rules. i have to do what the officer says. reporter: the exchange is amicable and the driver goes on his way. then it's time for breakfast. the thinking is that if there are more women in the police force, there'll be less police corruption. the theory seems to be working. rosalba: for every 100 complaints about corruption we used to get, now we only get one or two. so it's possible to change. reporter: the female traffic officers enjoy tortilla, eggs and ham for breakfast as much as their male colleagues, but

that's where the similarities end. there's anger when the unit watches a video of male police officers extorting bribes from drivers. they've been fighting this kind of behavior for five years. >> we always have to give them something. >> yes, they get their tip. reporter: rosalba is adamant that women have more respect for family values and religion. she always keeps a copy of the bible with her. she says the reputation of the male officers is a disaster -- no one trusts them anymore. >> we women are just better. men -- whether they're policemen or not -- just come here to the market to steal from us. reporter: the clean image the women enjoy also has to do with the fact that the female-only police unit has existed for just five years. it's not burdened by a checkered history, or old structures. rosalba takes a lunch break with

her grandson mariano and daughter rosa. her mother's work inspired rosa to become a lawyer, even though rosalba has a few enemies among her male colleagues. rosa: sometimes people said really bad stuff about my mother. it was pretty mean, and that hurts, of course. but thankfully it seems to have just made her stronger. reporter: it's made rosalbe so strong, that she is now studying law herself in evening classes. she wants to be even more effective in her fight against corruption. rosalba: i don't tolerate corruption. not one bit. if my officers don't do their work properly, they're going to have to pay the consequences. reporter: commandante rosalba -- as a grandmother, loving and tolerant. but she's one tough cop.

host: recent years have seen mexican farmers growing opium poppies to feed the growing demand for heroin in the u.s. its current addiction epidemic began with massive over-prescription of opioid pain relievers in the 1990's. with big pharma aggressively marketing the drugs and downplaying their addictive nature, sales quadrupled between 1999 and 2014 -- and their potency also increased. the number of addicts -- and drug fatalities -- is skyrocketing. in 2015 alone, 33,000 people died of an overdose. the government has attempted to stem prescription opioid abuse by making them less available. as a result, more and more people are now switching to heroin. according to a recent national survey, nearly 2.6 million americans have used heroin. reporter: corey long is 24. he likes to play guitar.

he has a girlfriend, a high school diploma, and a job. and he is a recovering heroin addict. opioid drugs were once considered a problem exclusive to america's inner cities. but in the past few decades, they have also crept into the lives of wealthy suburbanites. corey started using heroin in an attempt to improve his social life. corey: there was a pattern my whole life of feeling like i wasn't good enough in friend circles, feeling like people didn't really want me around, feeling less than. and when i met these friends that i was -- that i started doing drugs with, i felt the complete opposite. i felt like i fit in completely, i felt like we were all the same, they wanted me there. reporter: corey was one of the lucky ones. he had a supportive family, a steady job, and a roof over his head. but heroin took a serious toll on his life, as he watched his

friends die from overdoses and experience drug-induced psychosis. corey: i was either masking my withdrawal or masking the fact that i was high constantly -- at work, around my dad. it was just mentally exhausting, the web of lies that comes with using a drug like that. reporter: mike gimbel is a counselor and a consultant at the maryland addiction recovery center. he's also been a recovering addict for the past 44 years. the current opioid epidemic has to do with doctors over-prescribing pain medications to patients, and international cartels introducing new kinds of powerful synthetic drugs like fentanyl to the market. mike: why aren't we dealing with it? there's a lot of denial in certain areas. middle class neighborhoods or schools, they don't want to admit that their kids are doing heroin. families don't want to admit it. by the time they find out,

sometimes it's too late. so it's a matter of waking up the public about this awareness, and then the government is certainly not doing their job in providing the resources. treatment -- that's treatment resources -- number one on the list of what we need that doesn't exist. reporter: but as opioid-related deaths continue to increase across the country, the u.s. government is beginning to take the problem seriously. in march 2017, the governor of maryland declared a state of emergency to combat the epidemic. but with many people ending up in jail before they manage to find a treatment program, gimbel says more funding is needed. mike: $35,000 to $40,000 a year to keep someone in prison. and they come out, and 70% go back. we can treat them in one of these residential programs for probably $10,000 or $15,000. and we have a lot better success rate in treatment than we do in

incarceration. we need that money. if we're willing to pay for it for jail, we should be willing as a country and a government to pay for the treatment. reporter: corey long now also works at the addiction recovery center, helping other addicts through the difficult process of getting clean. two years clean himself, he is now looking forward to the future. corey: i'm really excited to be moving in with my girlfriend, and starting a life with her. i'm also excited to be able to devote more time and space to my music. reporter: according to estimates, only 20% to 40% of drug users ever fully recover. but rey is oimistic he's aten the odds. with the help of his loved ones, he's ready to move on.

host: the destructive force of substance abuse. it's also a problem in the philippines, where president rodrigo durte is wagg a bldy crackdown on the drug trade. a lucky few have been able to find help. reporter: uniforms are compulsory, here at the treatment and rehabilitation center for drug addicts at camp bagong diwa in metro manila. patients wear white t-shirts with red shorts, which either they or their families have paid for. those sent to rehab with dr. leabres are charged 80 euros when they begin, and then 60 euros a month. those who can't afford the fees are given subsidies. dr. leabres: our challenge is to help people understand that an addict has a medical condition. he can be a friend, he can be a relative, he can be your son, or your husband or wife -- and all of this is part of you. help them. reporter: but not everyone is

heeding this message. elected president in 2016, rodrigo duterte is waging war on drugs. 8000 suspected drug pushers and users have been killed, many at the hands of the police or so-called death squads. more than a million have voluntarily turned themselves in and the prisons are filled to bursting. and for these people, going cold turkey is a matter of life or death. others volunteer to go into rehab, but worry aboutheir famies on the outside. >> the killings aren't right. since duterte has been in power, i've been afraid for my life. it's safer here. i also need to think about my wife's suffering. my child and my wife are really the worst affected. reporter: treatment is supposed to entail training, occupational

therapy, counseling, and follow-up care. but with only 12 doctors per 1000 inmates, it's impossible to see through. and the total count of drug users in the philippines could be as many as four million. president duterte's drug war has been described as mass murder. but he's proud of what his country is doing to counter the poverty-fuelled wave of drug addiction. a chinese tycoon funded this giant new rehabilitation center. an irony, some might say, given the role played by chinese gangs in the philippine drug trade. president duterte: i will not allow my country to sink like colombia. i will not stop until the last pusher, until the last drug lord is exterminated. that will be the rule of the day. reporter: 100,000 square meters of space for 10,000 addicts. but just 186 patients are being

treated here. there's a serious doctor shortage. there are only 13 federal drug clinics, so local governments are at the forefront of the fight against drugs. in olongapo, the mayor has former addicts building coffins provided to poor families who can't pay for funeral services. robert: since i began taking part in the mayor's project, i finally have work. it was good that i turned myself in. reporter: for many of the former addicts, this is the first time they've had a chance to learn skills and earn a wage. angelito: we have hope once again. something's changed.

someone cares about us -- the mayor and the department for business start-ups. reporter: mayor rolen paulino hands out chocolates and chats with the trainee craftsmen. he wants to turn the jobs-for-addicts scheme into a cooperative that builds and sells furniture. mayor paulino: i said, do it properly and change yourselves, otherwise the coffin you are making might be your own. reporter: elsewhere, recovering drug users are encouraged to exercise and eat well. joan: we see zumba as a priority. the participants can detox their bodies, and they can make new friends. and then they are more likely to cooperate in our program and to get healthier. reporter: that's the theory. but it will be difficult to

improve the addicts' long-term behavior if they have no livelihood and no motivation to change their habits. julie: lifestyle -- if you want to be poor, you always want to be poor. you just want to ask something from those who have already. if you don't have any notions, visions in life, to elevate your conditions in life, that's the problem. reporter: those who are here apparently do want to change, and help is available to them. pickled milkfish is a big seller at markets across the philippines. cleaning it and preparing it is a way of earning a living. benjie: i have a hard time working with food -- i always left that up to my wife. i used to just sit down at the table when i got home. but i've got better.

i want to change while i'm here. reporter: the patients at the bagong diwa rehab clinic need more than occupational therapy programs. proper treatment can help even the toughest of inmates. how do you feel, asks dr. leabres. fine, answers the patient. lonely? no, i'm happy, he says. i've learned my lesson and i will change my life. his spell in rehab might have been rough, but it probably saved his life. out on the streets, the killing continues, overseen by the president himself. host: what can be done to help drug addicts?

series. this is when we meet people dedicated to conserving our natural world. this week we're in the serengeti national park in northeast tanzania. a population explosion has gone hand in hand with growing demand for grazing land for livestock. the trouble is, wildlife needs it, too. our reporter inga sieg and cameraman axel warnstedt went to the serengeti to see how the park and the region around it are faring. reporter: these lions don't need to worry where their next meal will come from. millions of wildebeest, zebras and antelope traverse the serengeti national park every year in the largest mammal migration in the world. but the park is in danger.

conservationists rian and lorna labuschagne have been working in national parks for over 30 years. now they're here in the serengeti, fighting to protect its animal populations. rian: any illegal poaching or killing of animals is a problem for that ecosystem, because it puts it out of balance. here in the serengeti, here they use this snaring method which is devastating on big populations of wildlife. everything will be killed. mostly wildebeest, zebra, impalas, but if they put up a whole snareline sometimes over 100 snares, what ever goes in there. reporter: this patrol unit is made up of park rangers and former poachers. they've collected more than 100 snares today. most of the poachers come from villages on the edge of the park.

rian: they know how to do it, they have got years and years of experience. animals walk into the snare and the cablewire pulls tight around the neck, sometimes around the foot, and the animal is then strangled and killed. reporter: the animals of the serengeti know no borders. there are no fences in the park, and animals and humans live in close proximity. masegeri rurai lives in the serengeti buffer zone. his job is to safeguard the park, and that means protecting it against humans. the current population of tanzania is 50 million. but that could double in coming decades. masegeri: population growth for the serengeti means more increased consumption of natural resources, and that means more

pressure for the wildlife. bushmeat, hunting, and also grazing. livestock is increasingly a big problem. [crowd singing] reporter: cocoba is a community bank. it allows up to 30 villagers to pool their savings until they can afford to invest in something the village needs. many of the participants in the scheme are former poachers or locals who used to live from their cattle. now they're small business-owners. masegeri: the goal of cocoba is

to enable communities to be empowered economically to engage into more sustainable economic activities which support conservation in a more positive way. reporter: in populated areas, domestic animals pose yet another risk to wildlife. cows and goats graze on land the wild animals need. this is tolerated on the edges of the serengeti, in order to avoid alienating locals. they administer these areas themselves, and income from tourism is ploughed directly into the villages. the edges of the park are less spectacular than its center, but a growing number of visitors are finding their way here, too. relations between villagers and conservationists are less tense than they used to be. sospeter: yes, we need more money, we need more money from tourists.

but also we need the people, we need to serve the people. documentary written and directed by bernhard grzimek. the academy award-winning film helped make the park world-famous. nearly 60 years later, it's more topical than ever. rian: sometimes it's difficult for us who come in from the outside, who has to transfer new ideas to the tanzanian team here, to really get the message over. we as frankfurt zoological society stand a little bit away and look at the whole picture

from afar, and then we can see shortcomings in certain places where we feel well with experience we have, because we work internationally, experience we have from other places. we can bring that experience to the ground and help the local management to be more effective in what they are doing. reporter: back in the buffer zone, masegeri rurai is visiting the new high school. the first -- and only -- one far and wide. masegeri: which animal do you like most? elephant? giraffe? lion? do you know the serengeti is one of the wonders of the world? so we have to keep these animals by studying science subjects. reporter: the children are eager

to learn english, the second to learn english, the second official language here after swahili. until recently, there was only an elementary school in the area. the new high school was paid for with income from tourism. the children are also taught how valuable the serengeti is to them and to the whole region. so it needs to be well looked-after. host: that's all for today. but do get in touch. write to us at global3000@dw.com or via facebook -- dw global society. see you next time. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

- [narrator] this program is made possible in part by the town of marion. historic marion, virginia, home of the wayne henderson school of appalachian arts, celebrating 21 years as a certified virginia main street community. the ellis family foundation. general francis marion hotel. the historic general francis marion hotel and black rooster restaurant and lounge, providing luxurious accommodations and casual fine dining. the bank of marion. the bank of marion, your vision, your community, your bank. wbrf 98.1 fm. bryant label, a proud supporter of our region's musical heritage. ("cherokee shuffle" by gerald anderson)