<Ol> <Li> McKeown stated that the growth in Western population, particularly surging in the 19th century, was not so much caused by an increase in fertility, but largely by a decline of mortality particularly of childhood mortality followed by infant mortality, </Li> <Li> The decline of mortality could largely be attributed to rising standards of living, whereby McKeown put most emphasis on improved nutritional status, </Li> <Li> His most controversial idea, at least his most disputed idea, was that he questioned the effectiveness of public health measures, including sanitary reforms, vaccination and quarantine, </Li> <Li> The sometime fierce disputes that his publication provoked around the "McKeown thesis", have overshadowed his more important and largely unchallenged argument that curative medicine measures played little role in mortality decline, not only prior to the mid-20th century but also until well into the 20th century . </Li> </Ol> <Li> McKeown stated that the growth in Western population, particularly surging in the 19th century, was not so much caused by an increase in fertility, but largely by a decline of mortality particularly of childhood mortality followed by infant mortality, </Li> <Li> The decline of mortality could largely be attributed to rising standards of living, whereby McKeown put most emphasis on improved nutritional status, </Li> <Li> His most controversial idea, at least his most disputed idea, was that he questioned the effectiveness of public health measures, including sanitary reforms, vaccination and quarantine, </Li>

What was the rate of change of the global population in the 1960