UNHCR country teams make MADE51 possible, and funding cuts are putting this role at risk

While MADE51 is known for elevating refugee-made craft to the global stage, what often goes unseen is the groundwork that makes this possible. 

MADE51’s ability to safely work with refugee groups depends on the continued presence and coordination capabilities, of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency’s country teams.  As the UN agency mandated to protect refugees and help find lasting solutions, UNHCR enables refugee participation in MADE51, ensuring it is safe and dignified. In every country where MADE51 operates, UNHCR field teams work behind the scenes to lay the foundation for refugee artisans to participate.  

As humanitarian funding becomes increasingly constrained, resulting in immediate consequences, the role of UNHCR country operations remains key to MADE51’s success. 

Below are 5 ways UNHCR enables MADE51, and how reduced field capacity could limit the ability to include refugees, particularly women, in dignified work opportunities.

1. UNHCR plays a key role in identifying refugee artisan groups for MADE51

MADE51 begins in each country with a comprehensive understanding of the local context and enabling environment. UNHCR country teams are instrumental in identifying refugee communities with artisanal skills and evaluating the protection considerations associated with economic participation. They support the MADE51 team in assessing whether local social enterprises have the appropriate structures and values to engage refugee artisans responsibly.

This foundational work ensures that participation in MADE51 is appropriate, voluntary, and sensitive to protection needs. It leverages UNHCR’s longstanding relationships with refugee communities and its deep understanding of national and local dynamics.

However, as humanitarian funding declines, sustaining this early-stage, systems-level engagement becomes more difficult. The ability to safely include refugee artisans in MADE51 - and to consider new groups – depends on the continued presence and coordination capabilities of UNHCR.

2. UNHCR ensures refugee participation in MADE51 is rooted in protection and solutions 

For MADE51 to succeed, refugee participation must take place within the legal and protection frameworks of each country. This is where UNHCR plays a central role. As the UN agency mandated to protect refugees and help find lasting solutions, UNHCR’s work goes beyond emergency response. It includes supporting safe, rights-based economic participation that helps displaced people earn income and meet their basic needs.

UNHCR country teams help ensure that MADE51 activities align with relevant legal and protection frameworks.  This often means working with national authorities to address documentation gaps, clarify legal pathways, , and make connections to broader humanitarian and development efforts.

These linkages help make sure that refugees are visible, supported, and able to engage in a way that reflects both their skills and their rights. But as operational budgets shrink, sustaining this engagement across settings. Becomes more difficult

Even so, this role remains essential. For MADE51 to contribute to long-term inclusion and self-reliance, they must be rooted in the systems and protections that UNHCR helps to uphold.

3. UNHCR coordinates and creates linkages for MADE51

Implementing MADE51 in refugee settings requires coordination among various stakeholders, including refugee communities, social enterprises, NGOs, and government entities. UNHCR country teams often serve as the linchpin connecting these actors.

While MADE51 manages the model, UNHCR focal points ensure that it reflects local conditions and challenges. They facilitate the inclusion of refugee voices, identify emerging protection concerns, and offer local insights that shape MADE51's implementation on the ground.

Funding shortfalls have led to reduced staffing and operational reach, which affects how effectively MADE51 can adapt to country-specific needs and maintain its relevance across different contexts.

4. UNHCR supports the safe and secure participation of refugee women in MADE51

Women make up 94% of the artisans in MADE51 and their participation is central to the model. However, for many forcibly displaced women, earning an income comes with challenges, including caregiving responsibilities, limited mobility, lack of formal education and cultural expectations.

UNHCR helps address these barriers so that women can participate in MADE51 in ways that are safe and appropriate to their circumstances. Country focal points work closely with partners, women’s groups, and community leaders to create workable solutions -  whether that means identifying accessible workspaces, supporting childcare arrangements, or ensuring referral pathways are in place when needed.

This role is essential. It requires thoughtful engagement and protection-sensitive planning, which UNHCR is well placed to provide through its ongoing presence in refugee-hosting communities. 

As funding declines and field capacity is stretched, the risk is that this kind of tailored support for women’s inclusion becomes harder to deliver. Recent reports highlight the consequences of funding cuts on women's protection services. For example, in South Sudan, only 25% of dedicated spaces for women and girls at risk of violence are operational, leaving up to 80,000 individuals without access to critical services .

Sustaining refugee women’s access to dignified work - and ensuring their participation remains safe and supported - depends on continued investment.

5. UNHCR facilitates the partnerships that make MADE51 possible

MADE51's success hinges on local partnerships, and UNHCR often plays a central role in cultivating these relationships. With a longstanding presence in refugee-hosting areas, UNHCR country teams are well-positioned to build trust and convene the necessary partners to implement MADE51 effectively.

From coordinating with government actors to engaging refugee-led initiatives, UNHCR helps create an enabling environment for MADE51. Their involvement lends legitimacy, facilitates problem-solving, and ensures that the model aligns with local priorities.

However, as funding pressures mount, country teams have fewer resources to invest in relationship-building. These connections, though often behind the scenes, are critical to MADE51's ability to launch, grow, and continue delivering impact in new contexts.

These challenges are not hypothetical - they are already being felt in refugee-hosting areas. On the Thai-Myanmar Border, families were recently displaced again after a devastating earthquake hit the area. Now, as humanitarian aid is impacted by brutal funding cuts globally, refugees in the area are not only contending with disaster but also facing a food crisis. As a result, mental health issues are increasing. 

Our partner in the area, WEAVE Fairtrade, shared:

“Mental health cases in the 9 camps are high. Tragically, reports of suicide attempts have surfaced, reflecting the dire reality so many are enduring.“We have seen an increased number of refugee women coming to the centre to join the weaving and embroidery training. The women said they want to be part of the group because they want to be creative and stay busy, so at least they can temporarily forget their worries and anxieties. The centre has become a safe haven for the refugee women.”

The presence of a safe, welcoming centre—a place where women can gather, support one another, and work in dignity—is not accidental. It’s made possible by protection-focused planning, led by UNHCR and MADE51 in collaboration with local partners like WEAVE.

When support systems fall away, it’s not just programs that disappear. It’s the fragile progress, safety nets, and coping spaces that refugees rely on.

We cannot afford to let protection-centred initiatives fade. MADE51 depends on the steady presence of UNHCR in refugee-hosting countries.

If we want refugee artisans to thrive—not just survive—we must protect the systems that make their participation possible.

Now is the time to:

1. Shop refugee-made products: shop.made51.org
2. Donate to support UNHCR’s work: donate.unhcr.org
3. Follow and stay informed: @made51_unhcr | @refugees