Nasir County

Nasir County is an administrative area in Upper Nile state, South Sudan. The headquarters is the town of Nasir, on the north side of the Sobat River, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) as the crow flies from the Ethiopian border.

Economy

As in most other parts of South Sudan, Nasir County is extremely poor and lacks infrastructure. During decades of civil war, the countryside has been ravaged. Many people fled to refugee camps, and many failed to obtain education. Skilled labour is in short supply. The economy is based on subsistence agriculture, with unpredictable yields. The 2009 crop was poor due to lack of rain. In 2010 the problem was the reverse, with abnormally heavy rains flooding most of the county. Only the area within a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) radius of Nasir was accessible by road.

Health

In Nasir, most of the health care services are provided by the hospital run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and partly funded by ECHO (European Commission). A concern with returnees is that they may not have been exposed to fatal diseases prevalent in the south and will not know how to protect themselves. For example, malaria and kala-azar fever can be fatal if they are not treated in time.