In southwest China’s Guizhou Province, local authorities are using data-driven alerts to identify households at risk of falling back into poverty and intervene before financial shocks become long-term setbacks, officials said.
The approach, built around big data poverty monitoring, matters as China shifts from eliminating absolute poverty to safeguarding stability for millions of families vulnerable to illness, job loss, or other sudden costs. Provincial officials say early warnings allow assistance to reach households quickly, even when families are living far from their registered hometowns.
One recent alert flagged unusually high medical expenses incurred by a villager working in eastern China. The spike triggered a review by local officials, who found the remaining out-of-pocket costs threatened to push the family’s income below the threshold used to monitor poverty risks. Follow-up support covered additional medical expenses and provided subsistence assistance, preventing the household from slipping back into poverty.
Early warnings and rapid response
Guizhou’s system draws on data from public security, health, education, civil affairs and agricultural authorities to detect anomalies such as surging medical bills, school dropouts, housing damage or sudden income loss. When preset thresholds are crossed, alerts are sent to grassroots officials for verification.
If confirmed, households are added to targeted assistance programs. Provincial rules require that effective support be delivered within 15 days of the first alert, according to officials at the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Support measures vary by need and can include tuition-fee waivers, temporary public-service jobs, help finding markets for farm produce, housing repair subsidies and additional medical insurance coverage.
Digital access for households
The system also allows residents to apply directly for help through a mobile mini-program, reducing reliance on in-person visits and paperwork. Local officials say cross-department verification can be completed online, sometimes within minutes, speeding up decisions on assistance.
Part of a national strategy
China declared the elimination of absolute poverty in 2021 after a nationwide campaign that lifted nearly 100 million rural residents above the poverty line. Since then, policy has focused on preventing relapse.
Guidance from the Communist Party of China Central Committee for the 2026–2030 period calls for consolidating poverty-alleviation gains and establishing long-term mechanisms to prevent households from slipping back into poverty.
In Guizhou, where mountainous terrain and limited arable land heighten vulnerability, officials say the data-driven approach is essential. By June 2025, the province had identified about 853,000 people at risk of falling back into poverty; targeted measures have since helped stabilize livelihoods for roughly 72.8 percent of them.
Officials say the goal is to spot risks early and act quickly, ensuring that temporary shocks do not reverse hard-won gains.
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