China has effectively addressed illness-induced poverty: official

BEIJING - China has effectively tackled poverty due to illness, lifting nearly 10 million families out of illness-induced poverty and contributing to China's full victory over poverty, a senior health official said on Friday.

Multiple measures have been taken by health authorities and institutions to aid the country's poverty battle, such as improving the conditions of medical institutions, introducing targeted measures to help and treat impoverished patients, strengthening the control of health risks in key regions and for key populations, and pursuing coordinated progress in COVID-19 control and poverty eradication, said Li Bin, deputy director of the National Health Commission (NHC), at a press conference.

Service capacity at county-based health institutions has been improved due to increased funding support, project construction and personnel training, he said.

Health professionals at the primary level have been widely mobilized to locate and treat patients from poor families, with measures in place to ensure healthcare services are accessible and affordable to them, the official said, noting that more than 19 million patients from poor households have been treated.