"The move comes as the United States (US) under President Donald Trump has cut off humanitarian aid programs around the world. Until this year, the US was the largest funder of food aid for the displaced people in the Thai camps. The problems caused by the food aid cuts have also been exacerbated by an influx of new refugees driven out of Myanmar by a raging civil war."
"In March, hoping to make up for the US aid cuts, The Border Consortium (TBC), a Bangkok-based alliance of partners that provide food to displaced people in the camps, issued an "emergency funding appeal" to donors. "Without immediate funding, they [the refugees] face a precarious and life-threatening situation," it said. However, the requested additional aid never came, prompting the Thai government to step in and announce a resolution last week. Owing to the foreign aid cuts, it said in a statement,"
Thailand granted special permission for a group of long-term Myanmar refugees living in nine border camps to stay and work in the country. The decision responded to cuts in US humanitarian and food aid and a surge of new refugees fleeing a civil war in Myanmar. Charities had canceled rations after donations fell and The Border Consortium issued an emergency funding appeal that went unmet. The Thai cabinet approved the measure to allow refugees to support themselves and their families. The UN Refugee Agency welcomed the step, called it a potential regional benchmark, and urged expansion to all refugees.
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