People uprooted from Burma (Myanmar) began crossing into Thailand in 1984. Their number continues to grow because of Burma's ongoing human rights abuses and desperate economic conditions. An estimated 140,000 Burmese refugees currently live in nine camps strung along the Thai-Burma border. In addition, 450,000 people are internally displaced in eastern Burma while up to 1.5 million Burmese are living in hardship as economic migrants across Thailand.

The International Rescue Committee started work in Thailand in 1976 in response to the influx of refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The IRC now focuses our assistance programme on displaced persons from Burma.

IRC programmes along the Thailand-Burma border provide primary and community healthcare, water and sanitation, education, health technical training, organisational training, funding for food distribution, refugee legal assistance and advocacy, as well as gender-based violence prevention and response.

The IRC also runs a strong support programme for community-based organisations that provide humanitarian assistance to those displaced along Burma's isolated eastern border area.