Beijing Youth Daily:

In 2021, China secured a complete victory in the fight against poverty. In his introduction, Mr. Li mentioned China's efforts to reduce poverty by improving healthcare services for the poor, a key measure to win the battle against poverty. What specific measures have been taken to prevent people from falling into or relapsing into poverty due to illness? Thank you.

Li Bin:

Thank you. I will go into detail on this issue.

The health system has taken extensive actions to launch the Health Care Program for Poverty Alleviation, guaranteed access to basic medical services for all the rural poor, and helped nearly 10 million households falling into or relapsing into poverty because of illness to shake off poverty, making great contributions to winning the battle against poverty.

First, we have completely remedied the shortfall in medical institutions and workers at the village and township level. We have set the goal and standards of guaranteeing basic medical services. By taking measures such as making medical workers managed by county-level medical institutions work for township-level medical institutions and medical workers employed by county-level medical institutions work for village-level medical institutions, providing mobile medical services at the village level, and stationing medical workers at village-level medical institutions, we have brought about a historic resolution to the problem of some areas lacking medical institutions and doctors at the community level, basically realizing the equitable access to basic medical and health services for rural people.

Second, great improvement has been made in the service capacity of county-level hospitals in areas that have been lifted out of poverty. We have focused on the capacity building of county-level hospitals in our work and organized 1,007 Grade-III urban hospitals to pair up with 1,172 county-level hospitals in 832 counties that have been lifted out of poverty. We have ensured that there is at least one public hospital in each county lifted out of poverty and at least one hospital at Grade II or above in 98% of the counties lifted out of poverty. The gap in the capacity of medical services between urban and rural areas continues to narrow down.

Third, we have tailored measures to households, individuals, and illnesses. We have organized and mobilized over 800,000 community-level medical workers nationwide, got a clear picture of the conditions of the impoverished people with illnesses, and established a dynamic management system for a national health care program for poverty alleviation. We have adopted a category-based approach to medical treatment of poor patients to see that the measures are applied to individuals and targeted to illnesses. By the end of 2020, over 20 million people have received medical treatment.

Fourth, we have made historic progress in the prevention and control of key diseases in key areas. We have prioritized prevention and launched programs for the prevention and treatment of major infectious diseases and endemic diseases, with effective control of the major diseases that have long affected people's health, such as HIV, echinococcosis, and endemic diseases.

Getting out of poverty is not the end but the beginning of a new life and a new journey. We will make comprehensive moves in advancing the development of a healthy countryside, ensure that people do not slip back into poverty in large numbers, and that all people have access to medical and health services at the village and township level, and enhance rural medical and health services so as to improve the health of the rural people. Thank you. 

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