As climate change causes the Earth’s average temperature to rise, myriad environmental challenges result, from glaciers melting faster than ever to warming oceans and more severe and frequent weather events. These extreme weather events can overwhelm or destroy water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure, leading to contaminated water sources and increasing the spread of waterborne diseases like typhoid.
This World Water Day, the focus is on glacier preservation. The rapid melting of glaciers is disrupting the water cycle, causing floods, landslides, and rising sea levels. For example, billions of people living near the Himalayas are experiencing more frequent flooding and landslides due in part to glacier melt, putting freshwater availability and access to safe water at risk. Fragile WASH services are under stress, making it harder to protect communities, especially children from diseases like typhoid. As climate change continues to accelerate these environmental shifts, the risks of typhoid in these communities increases.
Protecting water, preventing typhoid
Countries with a high burden of typhoid also tend to be those most affected by climate change, raising the urgency for typhoid prevention. The 2022 floods in Pakistan were primarily caused by a combination of unusually heavy monsoon rains and accelerated glacier melting, both linked to climate change. In eastern Africa, rapid shrinking of the last remaining glaciers is impacting the water cycle and causing unpredictable rainfall, exposing communities to drought, floods, and extreme heat. The resulting scarcity of water exacerbates the risk of typhoid by limiting access to WASH services. Strengthening and improving WASH services and introducing typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) are the best way to safeguard communities against typhoid.
Several countries have now introduced TCV as part of their typhoid prevention and control strategy. More than 75 million children have been vaccinated through campaigns. In Asia, Pakistan led the way by adding TCV to its routine immunization program, followed by Nepal. Bangladesh also plans to introduce the vaccine to protect children from typhoid.
In Africa, countries are acting amid challenging adverse climate events. In Zimbabwe, recurring droughts lead to water shortages and increased typhoid risk, but TCV now offers a safeguard. Similarly, in Malawi, a cyclone struck just before its TCV campaign, heightening the urgency to protect children as the storm severely damaged WASH infrastructure. Burkina Faso has experienced recent heatwaves and Liberia faces floods and droughts; both countries have introduced TCV.
Preventing typhoid amid adverse climates
While the work to curtail environmental changes like melting glaciers and droughts is ongoing, we can work to minimize their impact on human health. Improving WASH infrastructure is the long-term solution to preventing typhoid but requires significant time and investment. TCVs are available now and provide crucial protection, especially in the face of climate change. More than 75 million children have been reached with TCV campaigns worldwide.
Cover photo: A woman brings her child to receive the typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) during Nepal’s introduction campaign in 2022. Credit: TyVAC/Rocky Prajapati
