A selection of Elsa Buchanan’s reporting, photo essays and communications work, drawn from field assignments and collaborations across the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Covering conflict, human rights and humanitarian issues, the work combines on-the-ground reporting with specialist analysis.

Human Impact

Stories exploring how conflict shapes daily life, from displacement and education to livelihoods, environment, and long-term recovery.

Conflict & Security

Reporting on frontlines, weapons, and military dynamics, examining how conflict is fought and sustained in complex environments.

Accountability & Rights

Investigations and reporting examining violations, legal accountability, and the human rights dimensions of conflict and crisis.

Health & Humanitarian

Reporting on healthcare, humanitarian response, and the long-term impact of conflict on communities, from emergency care to recovery and resilience.

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Thousands of refugees 'flee northern CAR for second time in less than a year'

Reporting on the border between the Central African Republic and Chad, this article follows families forced to flee renewed violence for the second time in less than a year. Through interviews with displaced civilians and aid agencies, it highlights the humanitarian consequences of repeated displacement, insecurity and the struggle to rebuild lives amid a worsening refugee crisis.

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Life after trauma: Giving survivors a new breath of life in Kakuma refugee camp's massage centres

In Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp, survivors of conflict, displacement and trauma are finding support through an unconventional form of psychosocial care. Through interviews with refugees and aid workers, this report explores how community-led massage centres are helping people cope with the physical and emotional scars of violence, offering a sense of dignity, recovery and human connection in one of the world's largest refugee settlements.

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Lebanon: Doctors warn of spread of cholera in refugee camps as rubbish crisis intensifies

Reporting from Beirut during Lebanon's escalating waste crisis, this exclusive story examined growing warnings from doctors and aid workers that mounting rubbish and poor sanitation could trigger disease outbreaks in vulnerable communities. Focusing on refugee camps and informal settlements, the report highlighted concerns over cholera, public health risks and the disproportionate impact of infrastructure failures on displaced populations already living in precarious conditions.

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Yemen: Disaster looming as humanitarian aid is stranded due to fuel shortages

Published during the early months of Yemen's war, this report examined how fuel shortages were crippling humanitarian operations and threatening access to food, healthcare and essential services for millions of civilians. Through interviews with aid agencies and humanitarian actors, the story documented the cascading effects of supply disruptions on one of the world's fastest-growing humanitarian emergencies, warning of a crisis that would continue to deepen in the years that followed.

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