Source description last updated: 15 June 2020

In brief: The Border Consortium (TBC), founded in 1984 as the Consortium of Christian Agencies (CCA), is a non-profit NGO currently consisting of nine international NGOs with the aim of addressing the humanitarian needs of people affected by conflict in Myanmar.

Coverage on ecoi.net:

Reports for Myanmar (country priority B1).

Quarterly coverage on ecoi.net.

Mission/Mandate/Objectives:

„TBC is the main provider of food, shelter and other forms of support to approximately 87,000 refugees from Burma/Myanmar living in nine camps in western Thailand. It also supports recovery and community-driven development in conflict-affected areas in southeast Burma/Myanmar.“ (The Border Consortium website: The Border Consortium (TBC), undated)

“TBC envisions a peaceful Burma/Myanmar where there is full respect for human rights, diversity is embraced, and communities are able to prosper.” (The Border Consortium website: About Us; Our Mission, undated)

The Border Consortium’s values are:

For its 2017 - 2019 strategy TBC decided to work on five key elements:

  1. „Displaced communities and Civil Society Organisations are engaged in Planning Voluntary Return, Resettlement and Reintegration Processes
  2. Food Security and Sustainable Livelihoods of Displaced and Host Communities are Strengthened
  3. Humanitarian Needs of Displaced Communities are Met
  4. Protection is Promoted in Camps and Return Areas
  5. Responsible Exit: Partners Develop and Sustain Programmes for Displaced and Conflict Affected Communities after TBC closes.“ (The Border Consortium website: About Us; Our Mission, undated)


Funding:

“Actual income from January to June 2019 totals THB [Thai Baht] 448M (86% of budget) and is forecast to reach THB 501M (96% budget) by December 2019 […]. Government contributions make up for 98% of TBCs income in 2019, increasing slightly from 96% in 2018. The US government increased its support in 2019 and continues to be TBC’s largest donor. This critical funding makes up 66% of the overall portfolio […]. The UK (DFID) government has agreed to a two-year extension until 2020, with other financial support from Australia (ANCP/DFAT), Canada (GAC), Denmark (DANIDA), LIFT (UNOPS), and The Republic of China-Taiwan.” ( The Border Consortium: The Border Consortium; Mid Year Overview; January - June 2019, 2019, p. 8)

„Although most of TBCs funds are now institutional, it still continues to receive funds from individuals, private foundations and organisations and churches.” (The Border Consortium website: About Us; Who We Are, undated)

Scope of reporting:

Geographic focus: Myanmar, Thailand.

Thematic focus: Humanitarian needs of people affected by conflict.

Methodology:

“TBC strives to meet agreed international standards for humanitarian action and so designs all programmes with the rights of individuals and communities as a key focus.” (The Border Consortium: TBC Strategy 2017 – 2019, undated, p. 6)

“TBC’s strategy to deal with potential obstacles and risks is to maintain continuous information gathering on preparation for and implementation of the return process, and to reassess its implementation plans at least every six months. Should major events trigger a material impact on either preparation or return implementation, TBC will immediately reassess and update its implementation and/or exit plans in light of these events” (The Border Consortium: TBC Strategy 2017 – 2019, undated, p. 16)

TBC provides “Annual Reports and Six-Month Reports dating back more than three decades, camp population figures and information on internally displaced persons (IDPs) […] along with TBC’s Strategy Plan for 2017-2019, and older Strategic Plans.” Annual and six-month reports contain “situation updates, camp population statistics, TBC food assistance, livelihoods, nutrition and other programmes, individual refugee profiles, finances, and much more. The reports on internal displacement provide the most detailed information available on the large numbers of people in southeast Burma/Myanmar who remain displaced from their original home places [...].” TBC also publishes “reports on nutrition challenges and successes, a handbook on a livelihoods vulnerability assessment, and a variety of evaluations of TBC’s work. There is also information on two special publications that highlight the human dimension of the refugee communities, and a report on the situation of Muslim residents in the camps […].” (The Border Consortim website: Resources, undated)

“After consultations with civil society partners during the first quarter of 2018, TBC agreed to coordinate field research into human security in conflict affected areas of South East Myanmar. The purpose of this research is to compile food security assessments, internal displacement estimates, civil society perspectives and refugee returnees’ experiences of resettlement in south eastern Myanmar. The scale, distribution and causes of internal displacement were assessed in 26 townships through key informant interviews with authorities from ethnic armed organisations and civil society. Responses were collected from at least three sources for each township and cross-referenced against estimates from 2012. […] Two household surveys have been conducted utilizing a multi-stage cluster sampling method to assess food security in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and conflict affected communities. […] Perspectives about refugee return and resettlement were solicited from interviews with twenty returnees spread across nine townships. […] The interviews were recorded on video and subsequently translated and transcribed to document the experiences and insights of returnees and inform future support processes. Perspectives about trends relating to human security in conflict-affected areas of south eastern Myanmar were solicited from twelve civil society organisations (CSOs).” (The Border Consortium: 2018; Human Security in South Eastern Myanmar, November 2018, p. 7-8)

Languages of publications:

English, Burmese

Further reading / links:

The Border Consortium: TBC Strategy 2017 – 2019, undated
https://www.theborderconsortium.org/media/Strategic-Plan-2017-2019-En.pdf

The Border Consortium: The Border Consortium; Mid Year Overview; January – June 2019, 2019
https://www.v3l4.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TBC-Mid-Year-Overview_EN_FINAL.pdf


All links accessed 15 June 2020.