Being poor adds many challenges to a person's life.

It's even worse if you get sick.

Matters are further complicated when you can't find a doctor, and even if you can, you typically can't afford the bill.

That used to be the situation for millions in China’s poverty-stricken areas. Many counties and villages were short of qualified doctors. And it's still the case in Leshan, a city in China’s southwestern Sichuan Province, where about a quarter of all impoverished areas are short of doctors.

"The reasons are simple: doctors in cities are not willing to come. Doctors in counties are leaving for better jobs. People who are willing to help are not qualified enough to do so," says Hu Qiangqiang, deputy mayor of Leshan, Sichuan Province.

With less than 18 months left for China to reach its goal of eliminating extreme poverty nationwide, improving healthcare services in impoverished regions is a high priority. On Tuesday, China's National Health Commission announced it was taking new approaches. The latest moves are to send more doctors to these regions and provide better instructions. 

He Jinguo, director of the Poverty Alleviation Office at the Chinese Health Commission, provided a set of data that revealed progress.

"Over the first six months of the year, China designated over 1,000 top hospitals to provide one-to-one assistance to about 1,000 county-level hospitals in over 800 poverty-stricken counties and established a telemedicine network to give distance-instructions," He said.

While reducing the medical burdens for patients in impoverished areas, governments are taking measures to ensure subsidies and incomes for rural doctors. More funding and supportive actions are expected to land in rural areas.