Typhoid control requires a comprehensive approach that combines immediate measures, such as access to appropriate treatment and vaccination, with sustainable long-term solutions, like access to safe water, basic sanitation and promotion of good hygiene practices.

Control of typhoid fever will be an integral component of achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in particular MDG4, which calls for a two-thirds reduction in child mortality by 2015.

While more children are being immunized every year, millions of children living in the poorest nations and communities are still at risk for vaccine preventable diseases such as typhoid fever.

Typhoid infections can be largely eliminated through improved water and sanitation systems, like those used in industrialized countries. However, the development of such infrastructure requires significant capital investments beyond the near-term reach of most developing countries.

In populations where the rights of access to safe water and basic sanitation have yet to be addressed, typhoid vaccination can help reduce this gap in equity, social justice, and human rights by delivering a safe, effective and affordable intervention to control typhoid fever.