Parts of South Sudan could be on the verge of a devastating famine, according to humanitarian organisation Oxfam.
This follows the release of a new Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) report which said that one in five households in the eastern town of Pibor could already be classed as hitting famine levels of hunger.
South Sudan achieved independence in 2011 - making it the world's newest country - but quickly descended into civil war.
Years of conflict have depleted people's food stocks and the country was most recently hit by a severe hunger crisis in 2017, with famine declared in two counties.
Speaking with SBS News from the capital Juba, Oxfam Australia's humanitarian manager Meg Quartermaine said the latest early warning information on food security was "alarming".
Referring to the FEWS NET report, she said, "there's significant deterioration to similar measures last year".
Pibor has seen food availability plummet after pests, flooding and violent raids affected harvests.
And as the rainy season sets in, much of the food people depend on has to be flown in from Juba, making it unaffordable for many.
Ms Quartermaine had just visited Pibor, where she relayed the challenges brought on by the wet season.
"The heavy rain meant roads were impassable for vehicles ... And it was hard to get around on foot as you end up carrying kilograms of mud [on your shoes]."
Ms Quartermaine said such conditions meant places like Pibor can easily become "cut off from the rest of the country".
She also said there was great concern about access to clean water.
"When people are malnourished, if they don't have clean water to drink, they become further and further predisposed to illness, especially children."
While Oxfam's acting country director in South Sudan Nicolo Di Marzo said "people are already starving and desperate".
A woman in Pibor said that her family had resorted to cooking grasses and weeds Nicolo Di Marzo, Oxfam
"A woman in Pibor said that her family had resorted to cooking grasses and weeds that are making them sick – but that they have no choice if they want to survive.
"Aid efforts have so far kept famine at bay, but the need is growing at such an alarming rate that Oxfam and other aid organisations are struggling to keep up."
Meanwhile, the latest round of peace talks in Addis Ababa this week failed to bring an agreement to end the years of civil war.
"Any continuation of the conflict will mean more people driven from their lands, more people unable to make a living and more people going hungry," Mr Di Marzo said.
"Without peace, hunger will continue to haunt South Sudan."
When asked what sets South Sudan apart from other crisis-prone areas of the world, Ms Quartermaine said "the length of time" it had experienced such crises.
A woman in Pibor. Source: Oxfam
"While the country is new ... The population here has a long history of being involved in conflict."
But she said that throughout the conflict, surrounding countries "have been very generous in their ability to take refugees. Uganda and Kenya have been extremely generous in their intake of refugees.
"We think that Australia can look at Uganda and look at Kenya and see how many people they have taken into their countries ... We're talking hundreds of thousands."
