Inner Mongolia achieves great success in poverty alleviation

Poverty relief work for poor people living in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region proved a great success during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20).

Over the five-year period, all of the 3,681 villages and 802,000 people in Inner Mongolia previously classed as impoverished were lifted out of poverty.

The incidence rate of poverty dropped from 5.85 percent in 2015 to 0.11 percent at the end of 2019.

From 2015 to 2019, the per capita annual disposable income of farmers and herdsmen in poverty-stricken areas in Inner Mongolia increased from 9,612 yuan ($1,434.63) to 13,793 yuan.

Over the past five years, Inner Mongolia has helped residents get out of poverty through relocation of impoverished residents, guaranteeing compulsory education, basic medical care, housing safety and drinking water safety. Consumers have also been encouraged to purchase products from impoverished areas.

Construction of the Xingtai community in Ulaanqab city was completed on Sept 30. This marked the moment that Inner Mongolia finally finished its resident relocation task in the 13th Five-Year Plan period.

Since 2016, Inner Mongolia has provided funding for 21.03 million students, with a total subsidy amount of 23.34 billion yuan. A dynamic database has been established to accurately track children and adolescents who have dropped out of school, persuading and helping them to continue to receive an education.

At present, there are no students dropping out of school due to poverty during the basic education stage.

From 2013 to 2020, Inner Mongolia issued a total of 14.32 billion yuan to support 993,000 poverty-stricken farmers and herdsmen living in dilapidated houses in rural and pastoral areas, funds they have used to build and renovate houses.

Inner Mongolia has also invested 5.37 billion yuan to build 15,317 water supply projects and install 168,000 sets of water purification equipment.

The problem of drinking water safety for 183,000 registered impoverished people has been solved.