Written question asked by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford (Conservative) on Monday, 21 November 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 23 November 2011. It was answered by Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) on Monday, 28 November 2011 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Burma: Overseas Aid

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that humanitarian assistance is provided to refugees and internally displaced peoples along the Thailand-Burma border.

Answer: During my visit to Burma from 15 to 17 November 2011, I pressed the Burmese President and his Ministers to move urgently towards a resolution to the ethnic conflicts in Burma and to increase humanitarian access in border areas.Through its project ““Assistance to Conflict Affected People, Eastern Burma”” the Department for International Development (DFID) is contributing towards the provision of food, shelter, other necessities and improved access to legal assistance to nearly 150,000 Burmese refugees in camps in Thailand. The project also finances the purchase of pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies which benefit people affected by conflict in eastern Burma, supports TB treatment for Burmese people on the border with Thailand, and provides aid for basic health care, food security, improved sanitation, and grants to help with the costs of schooling for internally displaced people in eastern Burma. The total cost of the project over three years from 2009 to 2012 will be more than £8 million.DFID is in the process of reviewing the effectiveness of this project, which is due to end in 2012. Decisions on future funding for refugees and internally displaced people along the Thailand-Burma border will be taken in the first half of 2012.

Secondary information