Guizhou launches nation's first standard on targeted measures for poverty relief

A standard system on targeted measures for poverty alleviation was recently put into effect in Southwest China's Guihzou province, according to a press conference held by the Information Office of the Guizhou Provincial People's Government on Aug 14. 

As a poor province, Guizhou has always been eager to improve the livelihood of its residents, and the new standardized system is the first of its kind in China. 

Compiled by 16 government authorities in Guizhou, the system summarizes Guizhou's poverty-alleviation experiences and achievements in the former years and forms a clear and systematic guide for future work. 

Comprised of four chapters, the system not only clearly defines poverty but provides detailed guides for financial support, infrastructure development, education and medicine. 

According to the new system, small drinking-water cellars constructed around poor families should be within one kilometer and larger than five cubic meters, guaranteeing that the average daily water consumption exceeds 35 kilograms per person. 

A big data platform is expected to help in the fight by automatically detecting who needs financial support and who has been lifted out of poverty, mainly in areas of education, medical care, serious disease treatment and chronic disease treatment. 

In the past, Guizhou has helped lift 6.71 million people out of poverty, and the growth rate of disposable household income is the highest in China. However, there are still 2.8 million villagers in 65 poverty-stricken counties who need help.

The 15 national poverty-relief standards focus on the management of industrial projects, but the Guizhou system stresses the rules and regulations for people involved in poverty alleviation, which will be revised and improved over time.