Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumAdvances in Technology and Exchange

The global eradication of smallpox, officially completed in 1980, stands as one of the greatest triumphs of modern medicine. In 1967, when the World Health Organization (WHO) launched its Intensified Smallpox Eradication Programme, the disease was still endemic in more than thirty countries, infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands annually. Through the international coordination of vaccine distribution, rapid containment of outbreaks, and public health campaigns, the chain of transmission was permanently broken. This achievement demonstrated how international cooperation and medical innovation could eradicate a disease that had plagued humanity for millennia.

The campaign described in the passage best illustrates which of the following trends of the late twentieth century?

  1. A
    The transition from steam power to petroleum as the primary energy source for global factories.
  2. B
    The complete homogenization of global cultural practices regarding medicine and bodily care.
  3. The coordination of scientific innovations and international institutions to increase human survival.Answer
  4. D
    The rise of grassroots environmental movements that successfully protected ecosystems from the impacts of industrial agriculture.

Answer

The coordination of scientific innovations and international institutions to increase human survival.
The correct answer is correct because the eradication of smallpox was achieved through the global coordination of the World Health Organization (an international institution) using vaccination technology (a scientific innovation), which dramatically reduced mortality rates and increased human survival in the late twentieth century.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus to identify the main event and actors involved.
The stimulus describes the World Health Organization (WHO) coordinating a global campaign to eradicate smallpox using vaccination.
Understanding the actors (WHO, international states) and the technology (vaccines) is key to placing the event in historical context.
2
Relate the eradication campaign to broader late twentieth-century historical trends.
The campaign represents the intersection of medical innovation (vaccines) and the work of international organizations (WHO) to improve global public health and life expectancy.
This aligns with the demographic and technological shifts of Unit 9 of the AP World History curriculum.
3
Evaluate the options to find the one that accurately characterises these trends.
The option highlighting the coordination of scientific innovations and international institutions is correct, while other options contain historical misconceptions or unrelated developments.
To select the correct answer by eliminating options that overstate cultural homogenization, reference incorrect industrial eras, or misinterpret environmentalism.

Key Concept

Medical innovations and global public health coordination that increased human survival and life expectancy.
Rate this question

Topics

Advances in Technology and Exchange

More questions from this topic