"Helping people with serious illness" was one of the "2018 Zhongshan Top 10 Livelihood Projects." On January 21, a delegation, led by a deputy of the Municipal People's Congress from the press circle, visited the Zhongshan Illness-related Poverty Support Center. Their objective was to get a progress update on the project and the operation of the center.

It was reported that Zhongshan has seen an improved serious illness medical assistance system. The assistance program covers over 90% of the medical bills of people with major and serious diseases. In 2018, Zhongshan issued a total of 12.08 million yuan worth of medical salvage funds to aid 14,374 local patients.

The Zhongshan Illness-related Poverty Support Center, which was put into operation on June 28, 2018, provided 9.8652 million yuan worth of salvage money to help 13,870 citizens last year. The charity drive within township areas, in particular, was raised to 1,952 yuan per person. Last year, an amount of 22.97 million yuan of temporary charity funds were issued to help 9,213 poverty families in township areas.

The Zhongshan Illness-related Poverty Support Center was built by the Zhongshan Civil Affairs Bureau, Zhongshan Charity Association and Perfect (China) Co. Ltd. It functions in face-to-face contact with those poverty patients who are suffering from serious illnesses. The center offers specific aid from a "government special fund" and "social charity capital."