TIME announced its annual list of best inventions of the year, a yearly ranking that applauds innovations which have an impact. This year, the SATO Tap features on the list, as a tap that changes the face of sanitation worldwide.

To read about the TIME Magazine feature, click here.

According to the WHO, more than 2.02 Billion people worldwide lack access to handwashing facilities with soap and water. This is a problem because handwashing helps to reduce the risk of several communicable diseases that spread via touch, including COVID-19.

With the rise of cases of coronavirus, hand washing facilities have become the need of the hour, especially in households that do not have access to water supply.

The SATO Tap was created with them in mind. The SATO Tap has a unique nozzle that releases just enough water to practice safe hygiene. It can be operated with a simple nudge, ensuring minimal contact when it is shared in households or communities.

It is easy to refill with water and offers a convenient place to keep soap. Emphasizing the need to wash hands with soap, it has been lauded in publications including Bloomberg, Nippon Mirror and Wired Japan. It was also named one of the Hot Hundred innovations by R&D magazine this year.

The SATO Tap will be available at prices between 3$ to 6$. The first 500,000 taps will be accompanied with a bar of Dettol soap, courtesy of LIXIL’s collaboration with Reckitt Benckiser.

The invention and introduction of the tap fits in SATO’s long-standing mission: to help everyone to have access to sanitation and be able to maintain hygiene, be it through toilet facilities or hand washing stations.

To see how the SATO Tap works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7cnpjlPEEg