Alixandra Fazzina, whose photography focuses on under-reported conflicts and the often overlooked humanitarian consequences of war, has an uncanny ability to gain access to and work in the most challenging circumstances imaginable and is recognised for her compassionate and empathetic approach.

She was born in East London, where she is now based, but spent much of her childhood in the Netherlands because of her father's work. She studied fine art at the University of Bristol, and in 1995, the day after she finished her course, she went to Bosnia with the British armed forces as an official war artist and it was there that she developed her interest in photography.

Since then, she has worked independently as a photojournalist throughout Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Her stories have been widely published in the Br ...