Last year we studied four schools in Odisha where we assessed the effectiveness of handwashing stations in promoting better hygiene among students. The schools were equipped with portable handwashing stations (for over 2 years at the time), strategically placed in classrooms, corridors, and high-traffic areas. The idea was simple: make handwashing accessible and frequent, ensuring that children not only learn about hygiene but also make it a daily practice.

Handwashing with soap and water is the most effective way to prevent transmission of many disease-causing germs. It is especially important for young students because they interact closely with many others every day, and because their immune systems are less developed. An estimated 75% of student absenteeism is linked to illnesses caused by lack of handwashing. The School Ambassador program recently launched HappyTap Philippines is a creative approach to address this challenge.

Global Handwashing Day, celebrated on October 15th each year, has become a global initiative dedicated to promoting and advocating for the importance of handwashing with soap to prevent diseases and save lives. This year's theme is "Clean hands are within reach". With this in mind, this article highlights some of the remarkable efforts by HappyTap Company from around the globe for Global Handwashing Day 2023.

The Rohingya community has faced persecution decades after decades in their own homes, and as a result, they fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh in order to seek asylum. As of 2023, there are about 1 million refugees and 33 camps in Bangladesh hosting the Rohingya community. I had a chance to visit one of the camps in order to see and understand what their daily lives looked like. Here's an account of what I learned.

One of the subthemes of Universal Health Coverage Day in December was "healthy environments," emphasizing the link between a person's environment and their access to healthcare. Progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) depends on the efficiency of healthcare systems. Efficient healthcare systems can reduce costs and expand coverage to more people. It's important to understand the different types of efficiency to prioritize investments and not overlook simple public health improvements, which are crucial in expanding health coverage, and creating healthy environments for all.

Improving quality and access to healthcare is a daunting challenge. But some simple, low-tech ideas can help to enhance the patient experience and everyone's safety.

Hand hygiene can ensure good health for all. But is having the knowledge of hand hygiene enough? A disruptive hand washing solution that is both affordable and inclusive can be a key to ensuring a better health for all.

Bạn có biết rằng HappyTap đã bắt đầu công việc nghiên cứu và thiết kế về vệ sinh tay tại miền Nam Việt Nam? Annie, thành viên nhóm tại Việt Nam, đã dành toàn bộ thời gian ở quê nhà trong khoảng thời gian đại dịch bùng phát. Cô ấy đã quay trở về trường tiểu học cũ của mình với tầm nhìn như một chuyên gia vệ sinh.

The Madagascar national and local government is working with the private sector and development partners to help students return to school safely in a new normal.

Hun Sen Mitthapheap High School is among the first schools to reopen in Cambodia, and one of the largest to participate in this pilot reopening phase. After months of planning, they reopened the upper grades this week. Rather than undertaking expensive facilities work with professional contractors, students themselves were well able to set up hand washing stations in each of their classrooms in a matter of minutes.

Can increasing access to portable handwashing devices and soap in people’s homes lead to improved hand hygiene? Here is what we found out.

East Meets West Foundation Vietnam distributed portable hand washing stations to 172 commune health facilities, 172 kindergartens, 980 disadvantaged households in five provinces. The study aimed to understand the resulting influence on knowledge, attitude and hygiene behaviour.

If you’re looking to equip your classroom(s) with hand sanitizer, you’re right -- sanitizer can be a convenient and quick alternative to keep hand hygiene in the classroom routine. One of your first questions might be, how much hand sanitizer do I need to buy?

Hygiene might never be the star in the WASH family, but perhaps it need not be.

Solutions to the global sanitation crisis can be generated by a multilateral approach, blending the expertise, research and support of the private sector with the focus and structure of the public sector to enable innovative local enterprises to deliver long-term, desirable solutions.

A North Tyneside nursery is leading the way in instilling healthy habits for life among children.

After launching successfully in Vietnam, HappyTap joined forces with TRANSFORM to take its aspirational yet affordable solution to Bangladesh. The solution – a mass-produced portable sink – is designed to remove structural barriers that prevent people from washing their hands with soap.

Around 1.8 billion people are at heightened risk of COVID-19 and other diseases because they use or work in health care facilities without basic water services, warn WHO and UNICEF.

Reimagine the future for every child

A businesswoman, executive advisor and coach who spent 30 years living and working in Japan has returned to the UK and brought with her a cost effective yet simple idea to keep children safe against Covid in North East schools.

Hundreds of handwashing stations will be set up in schools across County Durham as part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

A businesswoman, executive advisor and coach who spent 30 years living and working in Japan has returned to the UK and brought with her a cost effective yet simple idea to keep children safe against Covid in North East schools.

HappyTap Announces Major Expansion on Global Handwashing Day

Even as we marked Global Handwashing Day, UNICEF was managing a major operation to bring hygiene supplies and safety education materials to all 13,482 schools and 3,064 community pre-schools in Cambodia. These are essential for their safe re-opening.

Hundreds of hand washing stations will be set up in schools across County Durham as part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Hundreds of handwashing stations will be set up in schools across County Durham as part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

In a live briefing, HappyTap's Geoff Revell explains how the business model of providing portable and affordable sinks can help mitigate the effects of COVID19, and possibly prevent future outbreaks.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Aqua for All recognised the need to support water and sanitation service providers who are actively working to control the spread of the virus and protect vulnerable groups. There is an increased demand for such services and limited access to funding.

Behavioural scientist Richard Wright explains how consumer goods supply chains can provide crucial access to goods and services, and thereby have an impact on global poverty.

This UNICEF fact sheet outlines the key considerations for choosing a handwashing station, taking into account design features, portability, local availability, end-user experience, and disability access.

Excerpts related to handwashing infrastructure, from "Water, sanitation, hygiene, and waste management for the COVID-19 virus; interim guidance 23 April 2020.

A package of more than VND 2.4 billion is provided to assist disadvantaged women and primary schools to access clean water, handwashing, and sanitation to prevent and control COVID-19 epidemic

The portability of HappyTap can help in ensuring people’s hygiene and keep them protected whether they are at home or on the move.

WHO Recommendation on Handwashing Stations; Healthcare Facilities

Assessment of handwashing practices and user satisfaction among consumer households in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

During the 72nd World Health Assembly, hosted on 20–28 May 2019, the WASH in health care facilities resolution was unanimously approved.

What do you do when there aren’t enough working sinks in the hospital and the infrastructure situation won’t be improved anytime soon? Sometimes, you need to get creative.

Despite having a cheap and simple fix that could prevent millions of deaths (handwashing), how to encourage it has puzzled experts for years. The rate of handwashing with soap after using the toilet is still estimated to be only 16%. So how do we get people to wash their hands? Geoff Revell explains how the HappyTap creates new ways to target behaviour.

WaterSHED’s HappyTap portable sink has been chosen as a finalist for the World Design Impact Prize.

Experts design colourful plastic sink to aid hygiene in country where lack of sanitation kills thousands every year

Children in Cambodia won't have a problem keeping their hands clean thanks to this frog-themed hand-washing device.

BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A small plastic box decorated with smiling frogs and a bright green logo, LaBobo looks like a toy, but it could help prevent thousands of people from getting sick with diarrhoea and other diseases.

In many developing countries, handwashing with soap offers huge potential for improved public health due to its unique effectiveness as a barrier against a variety of important diseases such as diarrheal disease, respiratory infections, trachoma, and others.