Addis Ababa — British Ministers have pledged £75million to provide clean water and toilets to millions of poor families in Ethiopia, a British newspaper reported on Monday.

The massive aid donation would be unveiled this week, according to the report. Coverage levels for water and sanitation in Ethiopia are among the lowest in the world. According to official figures, 31 per cent of households have access to safe water, and 18 per cent of households have access to sanitation facilities.

"Almost half of Ethiopia's people lack a safe water supply and the average Ethiopian have to survive on only 15 litters of water a day - compared to 220 litters in the UK," the Daily Mirror quoted International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander as saying.

The report indicated that the project will pay to build 7,000 water points, as well as latrines in schools and health centres across the country.

"This will mean thousands of lives saved - 15 per cent of all premature deaths in Ethiopia are as a result of diarrhea," the British Secretary added in the report.In addition to low coverage levels, water quality is another major problem, as evidenced by frequent outbreaks of water related epidemics in both rural and urban areas. Contamination of water supplies by cattle dung and human excreta is frequent.

High fluoride levels in water are a particular problem in the Rift Valley regions of the country. On World Toilet Day yesterday, on which campaigners tried to spotlight a crisis hitting 2.6 billion people - more than a third of the world's population.

Meanwhile 2008 is UN International Year of Sanitation. According to the report, Ethiopia has been chosen for aid by Britain because it is one of the "worst places in the world for sanitation," with fewer than one in three having access to a proper toilet and most walking three miles to a well or tap.

New latrines should mean school-age girls who are expected to fetch water can now attend their lessons at school, the report said. A baby is 500 times more likely to die of diarrhoea in Ethiopia than in the UK. The move comes as 220 MPs backed the End Water Poverty campaign led by groups such as Water Aid.

British Minister for International Development Shriti Vader is visiting Ethiopia this week. According to a statement from the British embassy, the minister is scheduled to meet and hold discussions with senior government officials including the Prime Minister.

She is also expected to visit a number of innovative Departments for International Development programmes, visit the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region (SNNPR), and have discussions with representatives of aid donors and civil society organizations based in Addis Ababa.