Rural Elderly Individuals: Target Group of Social Work in Poverty Alleviation Efforts

The issue of poverty has persisted for a long time and is one of the three major challenges to human development identified by the United Nations. Elderly individuals in rural areas, due to insufficient personal resources, weak economic capacity, inadequate social security, and unstable family support, are more susceptible to the problems of poverty. In recent years, the Chinese government has vigorously promoted poverty reduction efforts, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which historically eradicated absolute poverty. However, it is undeniable that in rural areas, the issue of relative poverty among elderly individuals remains prominent, and this group also faces a high risk of returning to poverty. Therefore, in the historical journey of combating poverty, special attention needs to be given to rural elderly individuals, making the improvement of their quality of life a crucial goal of poverty reduction efforts.