(Photo: People's Daily)

The sudden outbreak of the novel coronavirus has brought new challenges to tackling poverty. People are concerned about whether the task of poverty alleviation this year can be completed as scheduled.  

To answer this question, the People's Daily has interviewed authoritative experts and grassroots cadres and masses. 

According to the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, the impact of the current coronavirus outbreak on China’s poverty elimination target can be broken down to the following aspects.

Firstly, workers from impoverished areas are finding it hard to get back to work. The outbreak has led many Chinese businesses to extend the Spring Festival holiday. People from poor areas are also tending to stay at home for fear of catching the virus. In some poverty-stricken places, production plants designated to provide jobs for local people are still waiting to reopen.

Secondly, industries set up for poverty alleviation have been disrupted. During the outbreak, lockdowns and quarantines have made it difficult for raw materials to reach the production line. Sales have also been jeopardized due to transportation problems.

Thirdly, poverty alleviation projects are stalled. Projects related to poverty elimination, including those intended to improve transportation and water quality in impoverished areas, have been suspended due to the outbreak.

Fourthly, officials in charge of local poverty elimination plans can no longer visit impoverished families in person. An important part of the China’s poverty alleviation programs is for relevant officials to regularly visit targeted families and update themselves with how their work is progressing. Amid the outbreak, however, such visits are no longer possible. Communication is now made through Wechat or phone calls, which makes it less direct and informative.

However, such challenges will not dim the general outlook for China’s poverty alleviation goals. According to Wei Houkai, leader of the Rural Development Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, provincial-level regions with at least 1% of the population under the poverty line, including Guangxi, Yunnan and five others, are less stricken by the virus.

The impact of the epidemic is also limited because it only cuts down the income, and will not shake a series of programs that underpin China’s poverty alleviation efforts. These efforts include basic food and clothing supply and compulsory education programs. 

Wang Sangui, Dean of the Poverty Reduction Institute of Renmin University of China, says that for families that have already been lifted out of poverty, their income has far exceeded the poverty line, so the outbreak is not likely to bring them back into an impoverished state.

(Compiled by Chen Jinhong)