International Journal of Engineering and Information Systems (IJEAIS)   Year: 2021 | Volume: 5 | Issue: 6 | Page No.: 1-6 Solar Powered Automatic Hand Washing and Sanitizing System J. Ombiro Gwaro , E. Yego, I. Motochi and A. Osano Abstract: : Coronavirus COVID-19 was declared a world pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. Countries were therefore put on high alert to seek remedies that would help to contain the spread of the virus as research on nding a vaccine and/or cure of the disease goes on. In the absence of a vaccine and/or cure, preventive measures such as physical distancing, sanitizing/washing of hands with running water and soap or wearing of masks have been highly recommended to curb the spread of this disease. In this study, we fabricated a cost-e ective automatic hand washing and sanitizing system employing locally available materials. The sanitizer system was engineered based on an infrared sensor that triggers a mechanical pump to eject the sanitizer from the container automatically by sensing the presence of the hand. The entire process eliminates touching any part of the system by the user manually. The system holds 20 litres of the sanitizer with the possibility of scaling up its size which can enable a huge population such as in slums, local dispensary workers, patients and other visitors to be served. The 20 litres of the container was evaluated and it could serve 500 people per day. The sensitivity of the system was adjusted accordingly and found to be in the range of 0 to 8.5 cm. The automatic hand washing and sanitizing system is powered by a solar battery making it self- sustainable for use in any area including remote locations where there is lack of the national grid.