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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Yemen’s overlooked emergency: disability, access and the cost of explosive violence

For thousands of Yemenis injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war, surviving the blast is only the beginning. Through interviews with survivors and rehabilitation specialists, this report examines the barriers people with disabilities face in accessing healthcare, education, employment and public spaces, revealing an often-overlooked consequence of Yemen's long-running conflict.

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When the earth becomes a casualty: How landmines devastate Yemen’s environment

While landmines in Yemen kill and injure civilians, they are also poisoning soil, blocking access to farmland and leaving lasting scars on the environment. Through interviews with deminers, environmental specialists and affected communities, this report explores the hidden ecological consequences of contamination and the challenges facing areas struggling to recover from years of conflict.

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Mine Action in Yemen: Reaching those cut off by war, illiteracy and mistrust

Gaining rare access to communities beyond the reach of traditional awareness campaigns, this report explores how mine action teams in Yemen adapt their work for people isolated by conflict, illiteracy and deep mistrust. Through field reporting and interviews with deminers and risk education specialists, the story reveals the challenges of protecting civilians in some of the country's most vulnerable and hard-to-reach areas.

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Landmine survivors in Yemen face more than physical injuries: they face rejection, stigma and silence

For many Yemeni landmine survivors, the explosion is only the beginning of their ordeal. Drawing on interviews with survivors, psychologists and rehabilitation specialists, this report explores the social consequences of life-changing injuries, including stigma, discrimination, family rejection and the loss of employment opportunities. It reveals how survivors often face a second battle after leaving hospital: rebuilding their place within communities that frequently view disability through the lens of shame, dependency or misfortune.

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Turning the tide: How civilians hoarding weapons for personal gain are now handing over thousands of landmines

In communities affected by years of conflict, civilians once incentivised to keep weapons and explosive remnants are now voluntarily surrendering thousands of dangerous items. Drawing on exclusive access to mine action programmes in Yemen, this report explores how community engagement, trust-building and risk awareness are helping remove explosive hazards from circulation, reducing threats to civilians and supporting safer recovery.

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Fears take hold of Yemen Red Sea Coast civilians already reeling from presence of mines and IEDs as tensions escalate

With tensions rising along Yemen's Red Sea coast, civilians already living among landmines and improvised explosive devices faced growing uncertainty about what lay ahead. Based on exclusive access and interviews with affected communities, the report explores how years of contamination have transformed daily life, leaving families trapped between conflict, fear and the constant threat of explosive hazards.

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Made in Yemen: How Houthis’ use of sea mines affects fishing communities

This investigation explores the human cost of sea mines along Yemen's coastline, where fishing communities have found themselves on the front line of an invisible maritime threat. Through exclusive interviews with fishermen, coastal residents and mine action specialists, the report examines how explosive hazards at sea have disrupted livelihoods, restricted access to traditional fishing grounds and deepened economic hardship for families already struggling amid years of conflict.

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Burundi Opposition Claims Government Is Using Hunger as a 'Weapon of Mass Destruction'

As Burundi's political and economic crisis deepened, this exclusive report examined allegations that ordinary civilians were being pushed into poverty, hunger and desperation by the collapse of livelihoods and access to basic services. Through interviews with opposition figures, residents and observers, the story explored how economic hardship had become a defining feature of daily life, with families struggling to secure food and meet their most basic needs amid ongoing instability.

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On the run from his own family: Young Burundian albino's escape to safety

Based on a rare face-to-face interview with a Burundian refugee living with albinism, this report sheds light on a frequently overlooked protection issue in East Africa. Through one individual's journey, it examines the intersection of displacement, disability, discrimination and human rights, giving voice to a community that is often invisible in both refugee and humanitarian reporting.

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Meet MacDella Cooper, the former refugee running to be Liberia's next female president

Forced to flee Liberia's civil war as a teenager, MacDella Cooper spent years as a refugee before rebuilding her life in the United States. In this exclusive interview, she reflects on survival, exile and her bid to become Liberia's first female presidential candidate, arguing that the country's future depends on opportunities for a new generation.

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Kenya refugee repatriation to Somalia may see many join al-Shabaab or face sexual abuse

Reporting from Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp, this exclusive story examines the fears surrounding the planned repatriation of Somali refugees. Through first-hand testimonies, refugees warned that returning to Somalia could expose them to insecurity, forced recruitment by al-Shabaab, sexual violence and a lack of basic services, highlighting the human consequences of regional refugee policies.

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Burundi: Mothers fear children will go hungry as shattered economy reels from months of violence

Reporting from Bujumbura as Burundi's political crisis deepened, this exclusive story explored the hidden economic toll of months of unrest. As businesses closed, jobs disappeared and food prices rose, mothers described struggling to feed their families, revealing how ordinary civilians were bearing the brunt of a crisis increasingly defined by fear, uncertainty and economic collapse.

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