Washing your hands thoroughly with soap can help prevent the spread of COVID-19. But for 3 billion people, even this step is out of reach. According to UNICEF, 40% of the world’s population do not have access to basic handwashing facilities at home. In the world’s least developed countries, it is as high as 75% of the population.
To help protect these communities, we have launched a new handwashing solution called SATO Tap.
SATO Tap is developed to be affordable and attractive for low-income families and designed so it can be used anywhere in the home, even if it does not have access to a supply of running water.
Suitable for anywhere in the home, or for shared use in communities.
SATO Tap is a novel handwashing station that aims to improve hygiene for millions around the world. It has a unique nozzle that releases just enough water to practice safe hygiene and is operated with a simple nudge ensuring minimal contact when it is shared in households or communities. SATO Tap is easy to refill with water and offers a convenient place to keep soap.
The COVID situation is highlighting vast inequities in access to water, sanitation, and hygiene. For many households and institutions in developing economies, COVID-19 has made a difficult situation even worse by complicating access to sanitation through social distancing.
The SATO Tap is its first hand-hygiene solution, based on the same consumer-centric design principles of its sanitation solution, a key approach to ensure sustainability and commercial viability.
The unique tap design ensures low contact, thereby reducing the spread of disease, while the trickle action minimizes water use, meaning fewer refills, but maintaining solid flow.
The launch of the SATO Tap is consistent with LIXIL’s ongoing work on SDG6 that contributes to improved sanitation and hygiene, having already reached over 18 million people in 38 countries with improved sanitation through SATO products.
Water facilities in rural areas of developing economies are often communal facilities. Accessing the facility increases the chance of human contact and is a setback in practicing hand hygiene. SATO Tap will make handwashing with soap more accessible and easier for millions of households.
Hand-made household sanitation solutions release too much water or are not designed to mitigate the risk of contamination. The SATO Tap has a unique nozzle that releases just enough to practice safe hygiene with a simple nudge.
Pet-bottles that serve as tanks for the handwashing station have been tested with various bottle shapes for compatibility. This means that the SATO Tap can be adopted and localized for usage in markets around the world.
people have no ready access to a place to wash their hands.
of health care facilities are not equipped to practice hand hygiene at points of care.
children lack soap and water at their school.
Source: UNICEF
The SATO Tap consists of a plastic base with a nozzle/ connector designed to accept common plastic beverage bottle with a cap diameter of approximately 30 millimeters. The base enables users to tip the nozzle down to release a steady flow of water – just enough to wash your hands while saving enough water to use multiple times.
Tipping the nozzle back up stops the flow of water and keeps the water in a closed environment, mitigating the risk of it becoming contaminated.
The design relies on pressure and gravity to create a simple on-and-off mechanism.
Like many of the best ideas, the idea of the SATO Tap came to Daigo Ishiyama, Chief Design Engineer of SATO, completely out of the blue. His six-year-old son was playing with some toys in the bath, letting water dribble from one to another, when inspiration struck.
Within a matter of weeks, Ishiyama had devised a piece of equipment that is simple and cheap to make and will enable billions of people in lower-income parts of the world to wash their hands regularly - a critical first line of defense against the global coronavirus pandemic.
The process was not always straightforward, Ishiyama had to fabricate five fully working prototypes of the device in his home in New Jersey before he was satisfied. But the need to devise a solution was also very personal.
Ishiyama contracted the novel coronavirus in March and spent his time recuperating from the illness by tweaking the design. SATO Tap is now set to proceed to large scale testing followed by mass production. The first units will be manufactured in India, and will be made available for partners in September 2020, with ramp up of production and retail availability through early 2021.
Handwashing has become the single most important activity in the face of COVID-19.
To commemorate Global Handwashing Day 2020, we asked out audiences how their handwashing habits have changed in 2020. The objective was to find out how their handwashing habits and techniques have changed and if they all truly practice the right handwashing techniques using soap and water.
Watch this video for their responses.
Follow the conversation using #LetsMakeHygieneAHabit
Thank you - we are excited too #LetsMakeHygieneAHabit https://t.co/iQri2oyD3x
— SATO_Toilets (@SATO_Toilets) June 2, 2020
This world Menstrual Hygiene Day, let's make a difference by building Safe, Hygienic toilets for our girls and women.#ItsTimeForAction #MenstrualHygieneDay2020 #ruralsanitation #letsmakehygieneahabit #MHD2020 @MHDay28May pic.twitter.com/wkcKZYQpTX
— SATO India (@SATO_India) May 28, 2020
Today for World Hygiene Day join us with our @SATO_Toilets business as we pledge to #LetsMakeHygieneAHabit! #inthistogether #washhands #hygiene pic.twitter.com/OGZodfwZBF
— LIXIL Americas (@LIXIL_Americas) May 5, 2020
#letsmakehygieneahabit https://t.co/8NhDwq346a
— SATO_Toilets (@SATO_Toilets) May 22, 2020
