host: welcome to "global 3000." one father, twelve sons. a nurturing new home for refugee children from north korea a natural wonder with bathtub rings in the u.s. a hidden landscape is gradually emerging from the deep. and, in east africa, drought has left millions of children facing starvation. ♪ climate change, war, and a pandemic.

after steadily declining for a decade, world hunger is rising again. a 2021 unicef report said that 811 million people, so around 1 in 10 of the global population, did not have enough to eat. many of them were children. almost 200 million children are malnourished or even on the brink of starvation. in the east african nations of kenya, ethiopia, and somalia, people's lives are at risk. millions could die without emergency food aid and water. unicef fears that if weather patterns continue, the already massive number of those suffering will soar. reporter: in this part of remote northern kenya, drought has always been an issue. but years of reduced rainfall has exacerbated the problem. james ayolo is on his way to a village home to members of the

daasanach tribe. james: this year the situation was worse than normal because that is the period, we had long period of drought. this community lost a lot of livestock, which is the source of their livelihood. reporter: with tragic consequences. drought meant this family went hungry and their baby daughter died. nagerte: she was only little. we didn't know what was wrong. we took her to hospital and they told us she was malnourished. they gave us a nutritional supplement but by the morning she had died. the drought was terrible. i had no milk to nurse her. my baby died of malnutrition. reporter: now the family is grieving and faces an uncertain future. kute: since the drought began, i've lost my herd, my livelihood, and my child. in that order.

it's been very hard. i've lost everything. what can i do? will all my children suffer? these thoughts keep weighing on me. i have a heavy heart. reporter: kute gibril achao doesn't know how he's going to provide for his family now. he''s devastated by the loss of his child, and his herd. he used to have 150 cows and 200 goats. kute: when the drought killed our cattle, the government told us to pile them up and incinerate them so as to contain the spread of disease. reporter: in kenya alone, over 3 million people rely on food aid. children are especially vulnerable to the effects of malnutrition and drought also means their parents lack the means to send them to school. the un children's agency unicef says hundreds of thousands of

children in the horn of africa now have no access to education because of the drought. the horn of africa is in crisis. it's not just kenya. ethiopia and somalia have also been hit by the worst drought in 40 years. in somalia, 6 million people don't have enough to eat. many have had to leave their homes, and are now displaced inside the country. makeshift settlements have sprung up near the town of dolow . there are now five of them in total. this young woman travelled 300 kilometers to get to the qansahley mp. a journey she unrtook in order to save her child. but it was in vain. nurto: my child was sick when we arrived. she had fever and diarrhea. i took her to a hospital but she died. we buried her this morning.

reporter: the mother is only 20, and was married off at a young age. unicef says child marriage is on the rise, another consequence of drought. girls are also being married off younger and younger because that means the dowry price is higher, an important factor if her parents are penniless. finding a husband for their daughter is also a way for them to secure her future. every day, more infants and children suffering from malnutrition are admitted to the clinic in dolow. doctors and nurses like abdikarin moallim have their hands full. abdikarin: we've admitted over 40 children this month so far. measles, diarrhea and fever are common in the refugee camps an the number of children with malnutrition is rising. reporter: a region in turmoil.

and children are suffering the most. in somalia, ethiopia, and in kenya. there, james ayolo is visiting families to check their children for signs of malnutrition. he brings a tape measure. it allows him to determine if a child gets a dietary supplement called plumpy nut. the peanut paste contains powdered milk, powdered sugar and added vitamins and minerals to help treat malnutrition. james: she has been detected to be severly malnourished. immediately we put her in the program of our feeding. we have this type of feeding we give a child that is severely malnourished. reporter: but plumpy nut is in limited supply. aid organizations are under-funded. with a general election coming up in august, politicians have

other priorities. james: on campaign and politics, they ve forgotten these people and this community. they are not supporting them. and even the distance from the main market to this town is impassible. and getting food is becoming difficult and very expensive. reporter: it's finally started to rain, giving grounds for optimism. but for now it is creating a transport problem. and the rainy season might still not be wet enough to bring change. meteorologists are already expressing doubts. the horn of africa is ravaged by drought and millions of people are going hungry. host: despite the millions of people on our planet who are starving, the world health organisation reports that every year, around 1.3 billion tons of food goes to waste. a third of all the food produced globally doesn't even make it to our plates.

a shocking amount of fruit and vegetables are left to simply rot. but there are initiatives that are turning that around. reporter: it's all hands on deck in this spinach field just outside barcelona. anna gras and a team of volunteers are collecting all they can today. their efforts will supply many needy people in the region with fresh food. anna: wow, there's so much. i can't really gauge how much. but it should be enough to feed 100 families. or even more. reporter: anna gras works for the espigoladors -- the "gleaners." the nonprofit organization collects leftover crops after the commercial harvest on many fields in spain's catalonia region. this practice was more common before industrialized farming

and the introduction of strict regulations. now, it has been revived here, by the espigoladors. around 8% of the world's crops are believed to be lost at harvest time. in the european union, fruit and vegetables are rejected if they're too big or small and don't comply with appearance standards. anna: we are in a field of spinach that hasn't been sold on the market because there was not enough demand for it. so if we wouldn't be harvesting this spinach, it would go to waste. the farmer would simply plow through the field here with his tractor to prepare it for the next harvest. so what we are doing here is removing the spinach to give it a second opportunity. reporter: last year ale, her organization saved over 600,000 kilos of fruit and vegetables. in this way, the water and co2 emissioninvested in their growth were not in vain.

the rescued produce arrives at this warehouse. it's then distributed to charities across the region. amid the economic fallout from the pandemic, demand at spain's food banks has at times doubled. now rising prices and economic uncertainty caused by the war in ukraine are putting more pressure on the vulnerable. carolina bonafonte coordinates the deliveries at the warehouse in barcelona's port. carolina: the people who are most in need have the poorest diet. because in the end the cost of food determines what they eat. ensuring that they're supplied with a minimum of high quality, basic produce is very important for these people's health. reporter: the volunteers' activities helped build momentum for the drafting of a regional bill to prevent food loss and waste. recently passed, the legislation promotes the practice of gleaning as a solution. a similar law will soon come

into force nationwide. espigoladors' founder mireia barba is proud of that. she started the organisation in 2014. now she also runs an operation on the outskirts of barcelona that produces its own brand of preserves. made from food that otherwise would be thrown away. in the past few years, around 50 people found a job here. financing is generated through the sale of the preserves. and state funding. though mireia barba needs more soon. she wants to expand. mireia: we created a social business model that has three aims -- the reduction of food loss, mainly of vegetables and fruits. the right to healthy nutrition for everyone, but especially for those in a vulnerable situation. and we also wanted to offer job opportunities for these people. we are promoting this project

as a model that can work not only on a national scale, but also internationally. because in every city there are these three necessities which are the reason we exist. reporter: an existence that depends on plenty of helping hands. the people here are happy to be contributing to a circular economy, and social justice. anna: in the long run our goal is to disappear. but that would only happen if the problem of food loss and the other social challenges we face were solved. so that may be a bit utopian. reporter: the gleaners of barcelona are likely to have their work cut out for years to come. because there are still plenty of fields with an abundance to share. host: the western united states is also badly affected by drought and has been for more than two decades now. the effects of it are very clear on lake powell. the second-largest dam in the u.s. is drying up.

and uncovering a buried natural wonder. that's stirring debate. reporter: a piece of paradise underwater. no one on board here was even born when the glen canyon was drowned. a dam by the same name flooded this american natural wonder and created lake powell, an artificial reservoir. the world under the lake's surface had largely been forgotten. but now its sandstone cliffs are reappearing with a pronounced white bathtub ring. for wade quilter, it's a welcome sight. wade: we can only see the very top of it. it's almost like, if it was a very beautiful person and you could only see their eyes and everything else was covered. so we're seeing just the top.

i'd love to be able to see the rest. reporter: wade quilter is a medical student and a river guide. today he's here with his fiancée and his mother, jana quilter. mother and son are fighting to resurrect the glen canyon. they feel it was a crime to flood it. jana: wow, that is emotional. it's a gift. it's a gift that nature handed to us. it's spiritual, it's powerful, it's connecting. it's a gift that we selfishly disregarded. reporter: but not everyone here thinks so. three million tourists flocked to lake powell every year until low water levels forced the closure of many launch ramps. we encounter just one boat.

tourist: the lake. reporter: you want to keep the lake. tourist: i really like the lake. you have the grand canyon, yeah? so, lake powell. reporter: but nature is taking matters into its own hands. in recent years, water levels here have dropped by around 50 meters, 15 in 2021 alone. entire side canyons have been revealed and lost worlds recovered. this entire area was once submerged. wade: i wish for this. this is what i wish for. i can't imagine, in this day and age, burying this under water again. this is what we want. this is where we feel at peace. this is what i picture. i get excited thinking about coming here with my kids in the

future, taking hikes through these canyons. reporter: yet thousands of people earn their living from lake powell. mike and paul mcnabb run a family business offering fishing tours. the striped bass are still biting. what is missing since the water level started falling are the tourists to catch them. paul: we've been fishing this lake, my dad and i, since i was two years old. 1982. i mean, if it continues to go down the way that it is, we may not even have five years left. but hopefully it stays up, because i don't want to be looking for another job, you know. i really like what i'm doing. it's not a bad office out here. reporter: mike mcnabb remembers the days when lake powell brimmed with water. mike: up there at the resort, the water was lapping right up against the shore. and people, if they had a fishing pole, they could cast out from their rooms into the

water. reporter: but water levels have sunk to an historic low. the second-largest reservoir in the u.s. is just one-third full. climate change and drought have lessened inflow. but paul mcnabb says too many u.s. states are overdrawing the "bank account," taking more water out of the lake than comes in. paul: the main part of it is the need for water. there's just phoenix, l.a., there's big cities. vegas. big cities that are having a lot of people and they're getting bigger. reporter: if they say, i don't stand in line at lake powell, where do they go? paul: less golf courses, less fountains in las vegas. and, you know, just a lot more water conservation. and keeping it where it should be, in the lake. reporter: an artificial lake in the desert. for some a big mistake, for others a business. the glen canyon dam generates electricity for millions of people, but low water levels are putting that in jeopardy

too. deputy power manager bob martin aims to keep the dam operating, as he says hydro is a cleaner source of power than most. bob: removing a structure of this size would have huge environmental impacts on the river down below. you know, that's kind of the trade-off when we develop these areas. it would be just about impossible, in my opinion, to go back to what it was, you know, 60 years ago. reporter: a colossal man-made structure versus the massive architecture of nature. gregory bridge is a natural arch that until last fall, stood completely under water. now wade quilter can drive his boat under it. but there are very few people around to witness the world that's reemerging in many side canyons here. for hours we don't see another

soul. when navigating this section, where tree tops are reemerging, wade quilter has to be extra careful. we're heading to the spiritual heart of glen canyon -- the cathedral in the desert. long a place of pilgrimage for hikers, this natural monument could only be seen by divers after the canyon was flooded. but now everyone can marvel at its stunning beauty. wade: we're only here for a split second. this stuff though, is, you know... it's supposed to be here for a long time. this whole thing took millions of years to be created, so hopefully we can just enjoy it and not mess with it anymore. how do you feel? reporter: overwhelmed. [laughter]

the glen canyon is being revealed again; this once lost world is full of surprises. and more wonders await below the water's surface. host: in 1950, a bitter, three-year war broke out between north and south korea. almost 4 million people lost their lives. since then, the country has been divided into poverty-stricken communist north korea and western-oriented south korea. the after-effects of the war e still felt today. its almost impossible to cross from north korea to the south. those who manage to flee find themselves in a totally different world.

reporter: kim tae-hoon and his family are a winning team. he has gathered his brood together. he says bowling boosts team spirit. his eldest foster son ha-ryong is 28 and has long been independent. but 10-year-old jun-sung still clings to his father. kim tae-hoon lives in seoul with 12 foster children from north korea. they all stick together and put up with a lot. tae-hoon: people say, watch out when they're around. who knows how they were raised in north korea. better close the doors and the windows. they could be dangerous. reporter: seoul, south korea. many north koreans fleeing

poverty and repression in their homeland wind up here. even though they're korean, they face prejudice and discrimination. luckily, there's kim tae-hoon. tae-hoon: wake up, it's time for breakfast. jun-sung, make your bed please. reporter: kim's household is full of children who come from the unknown world on the other side of the border. they've fled north korea, often without their parents. now they live in a patchwork family of 13. cheong-iyong: we're no different than any other family. we're like brothers. he even comes from the same village as me. it's a miracle. reporter: ha-ryong was the first to find a new home here. he was twelve when he arrived

with his mother from north korea. after spending three months being cared for by the state, his mom found work, though far away. ha-ryong had to get along without her in foreign surroundings. ha-ryong: going shopping, taking the bus, doing basic stuff -- everything was difficult for me. there was almost never any food in the house. imagine a fourth grader living virtually alone and fending for himself. reporter: up to that point there was just one person he'd really gotten to know in the south -- kim tae-hoon. he'd worked as a volunteer in the first place where ha-ryong and his mother found shelter. later kim tae-hoon wanted to see what had become of them. tae-hoon: i walked in and saw him lying face down on the floor.

he'd fallen asleep in front of the tv. all alone. and i thought, when's the last time he had something to eat? reporter: kim tae-hoon simply had to help. with the permission of the boy's mother, ha-ryong became his foster child. soon kim tae-hoon was asked to take in more north korean foster children -- 23 in the last 15 years. every day he goes to the market to buy food by the kilo for his sons. now the costs are covered by the south korean authorities. they're glad to have someone to take care of the children and help them settle in here. kim's mother, jin mi-hwan, has come by to help him prepare supper. for years the two of them had no contact. she was upset that her son gave up his career in publishing to

look after children from north korea. but she tells us the children are more important to him than anything else, and so she's come to accept it. mi-hwan: honestly, how could i love these kids right from the start? but he told me that if i want to come here, i have to. i'm not allowed to ask the children about any bad experiences they've had either, otherwise i'd better not come at all. reporter: kim tae-hoon says looking after children is what he does best. that's why this is the right life for him. tae-hoon: this is my duty and these are my children. i'm responsible for them. who else would do it otherwise? reporter: kim tae-hoon says his kids give him more than anyone else. and his 12 foster children

clearly feel the same way about him. host: that's all from us at "global 3000" this week. drop us a line to global3000@dw.com. and check us out on facebook too -- dw global ideas.

♪ anchor: this is "dw news." the u.s. supreme court overturning roe v. wade ruling, ending constitutional protection to the right to an abortion. the decision paving the way for individual states to make laws on abortion. also coming up, a major retreat, ukraine orders its troops to leave a city