Health and Healthcare Systems

How people without running water can wash their hands

Children wash their hands against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a hand washing station set up by community organisation Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya, March 18, 2020. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RC2EMF9FM85S

Washing hands can cut viral spread by over 50%. Image: REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Emma Charlton
Senior Writer, Forum Agenda
  • A “tippy tap" offers a way to wash hands when there’s no running water.
  • As many as two in every five people don’t have access to basic handwashing facilities.
  • Washing hands can cut viral spread by more than 50%.

Being able to wash your hands is taken for granted in the developed world. It’s a key element in the strategy to stem the spread of COVID-19. But what if you live somewhere with no running water?

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This is the reality facing many people in developing countries. Now, the World Health Organization (WHO) has released a video showing how to make a “tippy tap” that offers a simple, safe way to clean your hands.

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Assembled easily and operated by a foot pedal, the tippy tap is a hands-free device made from everyday materials. The only thing the user touches is a bar of soap suspended from a string.

Make your own. Image: Watershed Management Group

As many as two in every five people don’t have access to basic handwashing facilities, UNICEF estimates. Regions with the lowest coverage of “improved” sanitation are sub-Saharan Africa, Southern Asia and Eastern Asia, according to the WHO and UNICEF.

Much of the world doesn’t have access to handwashing facilities. Image: UNICEF

With the COVID-19 pandemic gripping the planet, the WHO advises everyone to regularly and thoroughly clean their hands with an alcohol-based hand rub, or soap and water. It’s one of the best ways to kill any pathogens that may be on your hands.

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What is the World Economic Forum doing about the coronavirus outbreak?

COVID-19 handwashing advice. Image: WHO

Handwashing can be a critical measure in controlling pandemics, according to research. Studies carried out during the 2006 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) suggest that washing hands more than 10 times a day cut the spread of the virus by more than 50%. Tippy taps could make handwashing more widely available, helping to stem the spread of COVID-19 more quickly.

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