Old revolutionary base revives amid China's poverty alleviation efforts
Dawan village, an old revolutionary base in Jinzhai county of Anhui province, has been lifted out of poverty by resettling local villagers and developing tea business and rural tourism.
By Cui Can
Health plan
Tucked away in remote mountainous areas, Dawan village did not have easy access to medical resources. Disease and disability often caused poverty in the village. In 2014, people who fell into poverty due to illnesses accounted for 71% of the total poor population in the village.
Zhou Xiufeng's family is one of the households driven into poverty by medical crises. Her father died of stomach cancer, her mother has high blood pressure, and her daughter has been suffering from chronic osteomyelitis for years.
A farmer picks tea leaves at an ecological tea garden in Dawan village on May 18, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]
To ease the burden of healthcare expenses for impoverished residents, Jinzhai Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine has entered a pairing-up program to provide Dawan residents with healthcare assistance. Health professionals conducts regular home visits to treat patients and ensure that healthcare services are accessible to low-income families.
"In the past, I was like shouldering all the burdens only by myself, and now they help me to reduce 70% to 80% of that," Zhou said. "I feel relieved."
The new healthcare system comprises basic health insurance, serious illness insurance, and medical assistance, and it covers all the villagers living in poverty. Under the system, people living in poor households have only to pay a maximum of 10,000 yuan each year for medical costs.
