ZHENGZHOU, April 20 (Xinhua) -- More than 360,000 residents registered as having fallen into poverty because of illnesses in central China's Henan Province have shaken off poverty, according to the regional health authorities.

A total of 365,800 people were "cured" both physically and financially last year, accounting for 53.1 percent of the province's poor population that were lifted out of poverty that year, the provincial health commission said.

The provision of favorable medical insurance and assistance has greatly reduced medical costs for poverty-stricken residents, and medical coverage has reached 100 percent in rural areas, according to the commission.

More efforts and investment will be made this year to protect the health of the remaining 350,000 poor residents in Henan, it added.  ■