Nyal, South Sudan

Nyal Town (or Nyal) is located in Panyijar County, South Sudan. The town is known for the effects of extended fighting from the South Sudanese Civil War, leading to exceptionally poor humanitarian conditions including destruction of infrastructure, forced displacement, starvation, and sexual violence.

Nyal is known for its mango and palm trees. Nyal has a rainy and a dry season. The rainy season typically begins in April, making roads and the local landing strip inaccessible.

Nyal residents do not travel to the capital, Juba, by road, due to the presence of government forces, and hence must depend on aid organizations for food and medical supplies. The town has taken in many civilians who have been displaced by fighting in Unity State. According to a March 2016 report, the most recent World Food Program distribution of food in Nyal took place in September, 2015. Cigarettes and batteries could be purchased in the Nyal market, but as of February 2016, food was not visible on market shelves. It was reported that Nyal residents were standing in line in hot sun to register with the World Food Program, and the German organization "Welthungerhilfe," to receive food, at such time as food might become available.

Local health concerns include malaria, diarrhea, typhoid, and bilharzia. Nyal Town provides limited medical services as of 2015. The main clinic is run by Sign of Hope. A mobile clinic operates in the market, staffed by UNIDO. A smaller clinic is located about 6–8 hours east, in Maluak. For people living in the swamps north of town, only local herbal medicines may be available, such as preparations made from the Nim tree.

An IRIN report said that a flight over Nyal in March 2014 revealed that half or more of Nyal's homes had been "burned to the ground." Also in March 2014, a Director of Food and Agriculture Organization's Emergency and Rehabilitation Division visited an island in the swamps north of Nyal which hosted 2,000 internally displaced persons, commenting, "It wasn’t until we spoke to them that we began to understand the true magnitude of their despair." He went on to state,

...
Wikipedia