The purchase of the equipment will be funded by a grant of 775,000 dollars from the Norwegian government.

"We are very grateful for the continuing support of the Norwegian government to our emergency and development programmes in Ethiopia, and this contribution is significant, as safe water is vital to prevent the outbreak of waterborne diseases," the statement quoted UNICEF representative to Ethiopia Bjorn Lujungqvist as saying.

The funds will also help non-governmental organisations participating in the response programme to the emergency situation caused by the drought, targetting women and children in the worst-affected communities, Lujungqvist said.

UNICEF, in partnership with Ethiopia's ministry of water, regional water bureaus and NGO partners, is assisting more than 1.9 million or 45 percent of those people in urgent need.

The drought-affected regions include Ethiopian Tigray in the north, Afar and Region Five, also known as Somalia, in the northeast; SNNPR and Oromia in the south, Gambella in the southwest and Harar in the southeast.

Ethiopia is hit by severe drought every 10 years, and the current drought started last year.

Although heavy rains have started pounding the whole country in the past few days, Ethiopians say that unless the rains continue until the end of September, the country's food production will still be affected.

More than 12.6 million Ethiopians are directly affected by the drought and more than two million of them are under strict surveillance because of their vulnerability to serious malnutrition, according to the UN.

TERRA.WIRE