Update about TBBC rations.
Due to further budget restrictions, TBBC will have to make additional adjustments to the original ration reductions made in December 2007. The ration update details are available in English (PDF: 155k), Burmese (PDF: 140k), Karen (PDF: 141k) and Thai (PDF: 208k).

TBBC Annual General Meeting 1st/2nd November 2007

Statement on 2008 budget cuts

The Membership have considered the latest projections of the TBBC financial situation through to the end of December 2008, comparing current funding expectations with the Preliminary Budget expenses and minimum reserves required to provide adequate liquidity.

If no further funding is obtained it will be necessary to set the operating budget at a level baht 172 million below the Preliminary Budget, which is a reduction of 15%. Achieving such a reduction would involve cuts which would have a serious impact on the delivery of the TBBC programme, such as:

- stop supplying soap
- stop the supply of chillies
- cut the remaining food basket by 12.5%, reducing Kcal provided by the ration to 93% of the WFP/UNHCR guideline, and protein to 86%.
- reduce ERA assistance by 12.5%
- reduce the supply of building materials by 15%
- severely cut back on food security support
- postpone livelihood and capacity building initiatives
- cut TBBC staff salaries by 5%

It was agreed that TBBC Management will immediately implement a 7% cut in the budget (baht 77 million), selecting, in consultation with staff, those where decisions need to be made quickly to achieve the saving and those that will have least impact on the well-being of the refugees.

TBBC Members will endeavour to obtain commitments to additional funding of baht 95 million by the end of 2007. Further cuts included in the list above will be implemented on the 1st January to cover any shortfall in this fundraising effort.

TBBC Annual General Meeting 2007

Members’ Statement, Copenhagen, 1st November 2007

For the first time, the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) has reached the point at which food cuts for the displaced people of Burma have become almost inevitable. At its Annual General Meeting in November 2007, TBBC members were presented with an unprecedented budget shortfall of €3.5 million for 2007/2008. The impact on refugees will be drastic. Food rations will fall and shelter needs will remain unmet. For an already stressed population, this will bring nutrition standards to a level below international standards.

Around 150,000 refugees are entirely dependent on outside support for food and reducing their rations goes against humanitarian principles and human trust. Relief assistance to more than 100,000 internally displaced will also be negatively affected. We, the member organisations of TBBC are doing everything in our power to alleviate the situation and to raise the required funds.

Our thanks go to all those who have supported TBBC’s programme over the years. However the current budget situation calls for further funding at this juncture. Some additional commitments have already been pledged at the recent TBBC Donors Meeting including a particularly generous contribution from the Swedish Government and we urge others to follow this example. We call on the international community to meet the international humanitarian imperative in order to fulfil their obligations towards the displaced people of Burma. There is no other option. Time is running out and immediate action is required.

Recent events inside Burma have attracted worldwide attention and we must not forget the refugees and those internally displaced by the longest running internal conflict in Asia.

Comprehensive Plan For Assistance to Burmese refugees for 2007/8: CCSDPT (Committee for the Coordination of Services to Displaced Persons in Thailand) and UNHCR recently published a Comprehensive Plan for Assistance to Burmese Refugees for 2007/8 and presented it to representatives of the National Security Council, Ministry of Interior, 18 Embassies and other Donors at a Donor Forum on 29 May 2007. Click here to download this Comprehensive Plan (PDF: 3.1Mb).

The Comprehensive Plan is the result of a participatory process between NGOs and UNHCR, analysing trends and addressing gaps in refugee protection and services. It acknowledges significant policy concessions made by the Royal Thai Government during the last two years towards allowing refugees to be more self-reliant, but sets out the challenges faced in turning policy into action. Further detailed approvals are required from the RTG for projects to be implemented and the Donor community is urged to ensure the continuity of existing services whilst supporting new initiatives to move the policies forward.

CCSDPT/ UNHCR agencies currently spend around USD 60 million per annum and the new initiatives would add another 10% or so to these costs. TBBC's budget is currently around USD 33 million, just over 50% of the total.

Ben Hopkins cycling from New Delhi to Istanbul to raise funds for TBBC