10 Bangladesh, Burma and the Rohingya crisis DFID’s programmes in Burma and with Burmese refugees 2004 Small grants to civil society organisations–£110,000 each year. The British Embassy in Rangoon operates the Small Grants Scheme that provides funds to a number of civil society organisations working to meet humanitarian needs and tackle poverty. Street and working children–£451,224 over five years. DFID is supporting work by World Vision to improve the status and quality of life among children in Burma. Community Action for HIV/AIDS Care and Support in the Mekong Subregion–£236,295 over three years. This World Vision programme aims to develop community capacity and the growth of civil society organisations to respond to the ever-increasing threat of HIV/AIDS. Looking Before Leaping: Migration and Trafficking of Vulnerable Women, Youth and Children–£235,352 over five years. This World Vision programme seeks to reduce the number of women, youth and children trafficked for sex work or other forms of exploitative labour by raising awareness among community members and community based organisations about trafficking and other risks of migration. Source: DFID Burma Country Assistance Plan, 2004 15. In 2007, when our predecessor Committee scrutinised DFID’s support for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Burma and Burmese refugees on the Thai border, the budget was £8.8 million for the year (2007–08).11 Both the 2004 and 2010 DFID country plans for Burma stated that substantial increases in development aid would be forthcoming if Burma embraced a range of political, economic and human rights reforms, for example by re-allocating scare resources from military expenditure to health and education.12,13 DFID Burma post-2012 to now 16. After 2013, and the lifting of the EU sanctions, DFID’s programme had risen to £60million per year. DFID’s ambition for Burma was then to “help create a better governed, more peaceful and prosperous Burma that uses its increased wealth to reduce poverty.”14 11 12 13 14 DFID assistance to Burmese internally displaced people and refugees on the Thai-Burma border, Tenth Report, 2006–07, HC 645 DFID Burma Country Assistance Plan, 2004 DFID, UK Aid in Burma, 2010 DFID Burma Operational Plan 2011–16