Sometimes people miss the obvious. But when it comes to global development, forgetting to address the basics can prove fatal.
This is what the World Health Organization, WaterAid, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and other aid partners argued when last month they launched a report into how the lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene in birth settings is killing mothers and newborns in the developing world.
Maria Neira, director of WHO's public health and environment department, admits global development actors can sometimes miss the basics.