SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands raised eyebrows at the African Union summit in Egypt on Monday after broaching what he called the deadly taboo of toilets.

The Prince of Orange told leaders from 53 African nations that perhaps you, like many others, will find it difficult to go home and speak passionately about sanitation and related subjects like human feces.

The heir to the throne spoke with the frankness for which the Dutch are known in his capacity as the chair of the UN Secretary General s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation.

Pointing out that one million Africans die every year because of poor sanitation, Willem-Alexander called on the assembled leaders to personally help break through the deadly taboo that surrounds this subject.

We must overcome our discomfort at talking about toilets, feces and personal hygiene, he said.

People suffering from illnesses related to poor sanitation occupy half of all hospital beds in sub-Saharan Africa, according to UN figures.

It will come as no surprise that I was delighted to note that some distinguished African heads of state and government took the initiative to have themselves photographed with a toilet, he said, without mentioning names.

Their courage symbolized the step forward Africa needs to take.

I can only invite you to all follow their lead, and break through the sanitation taboo. Let us call a spade a spade and a toilet a toilet. It worked in many countries with HIV/AIDS, so why shouldn t it work for sanitation too?

Talk about toilets remains taboo in much of the world, but not in the Netherlands where personal health and hygiene matters are popular topics of conversation. -AFP