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From the air, the water stretches in all directions up to the horizon across the still vastness of South Sudan. To the people who struggle to live here, the marshes at times of conflict provide an element of protection, but also pose a challenge. People cannot reach the town of Nyal bordering on the South Sudan marshes by road, so they have to take small canoes and risk attacks.

If South Sudan were a child, she would have turned seven today. At that age, children would quite naturally be the apple of their parents' eyes and a delight to onlookers alike. Running, full of life and gleeful, warming even the hardest of hearts. But, therein ends the comparison. In the imagination. And reality sets in. South Sudan is like no other 7-year-old.

24 May marks the second anniversary of the UN Security Council adopting unanimously Resolution 2417, acknowledging the link between conflict and hunger and condemning the use of starvation as a weapon of war.

Fortunately, since we talked about this back in April the world really listened. Donors, leaders all over the world responded, they acted. Countries large and small took extraordinary measures to save the lives of their citizens and support their economies, spending $17 trillion on fiscal stimulus and central bank support.

South Sudan - Market Price Monitoring, 2016