Mingkaman, South Sudan: The scene at the food distribution centre at Mingkaman is all too common in villages and towns across South Sudan. Scores of women sit in the mud sorting food rations in searing heat. Once the portions have been allocated according to family size, the women heave sacks of sorghum and lentils onto their heads and carry them to the makeshift humpies that have been their homes since they fled fighting last December.

"The biggest challenge is malnutrition," said Peter Biar Deng, an aid worker based at the feeding centre. "It's very common here."

South Sudanese attend a Sunday service in Mingkaman. People bring their own chairs, a scarce commodity. Credit:Edwina Pickles

More than 90,000 people have taken refuge in the Mingkaman area but it's a small fraction of the humanitarian crisis engulfing South Sudan. One in seven of the nation's people have been displaced by the civil conflict that has pushed parts of the country to the brink of starvation.