The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warns that Ethiopia needs an estimated $650 million to achieve wider sanitary access for its people. A new report from UNICEF explains that 35 million Ethiopians would benefit from the funds that would finance projects aimed at achieving universal access.

UNICEF's representative to Ethiopia Bjorn Ljunqvist has appealed to the international community for assistance as half of the African nation's people currently lack adequate sanitation facilities.

"UNICEF calls on all donors to invest in achieving sustainable access to improved sanitation which is essential for the realization of human rights, health and dignity," Ljunqvist said according to Agence France-Presse.

Some international developmental and funding agencies have already pledged support totaling $50 million. But the funds donated by the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) is not enough to attain universal access to sanitation in Ethiopia.

Ljunqvist explained that the donations and support for the endeavors in Ethiopia promise "returns (that) are too good to ignore".

"Achieving access to sanitation has a direct bearing on the achievability of the Millennium Development Goals, including goals on health, child survival, poverty reduction and education, Ljunqvist said, according to The Daily Monitor.