Repository of problems worth solving
World Solve is a public institutional repository for identifying real unresolved problems across science, society, health, governance, economics, and local systems. Each entry is intended to be citable, inspectable, and actionable.
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4194Total
4194Open
0Solved
9Humans
Build feedback systems between schools, training centers, employers, and informal workers so vocational programs teach skills that lead to real income.
social-civic-problems
africa
kenya
making
technical
education
responsive
local
labor
markets
build
feedback
systems
workers
economics-resources
society-governance
mathematics-logic
informal
Develop enforceable, economically viable protections for construction workers, delivery workers, street vendors, farm laborers, and factory workers exposed to dangerous heat.
economics-resources
asia
india
workers
heat
protecting
extreme
informal
employment
develop
enforceable
economically
viable
mathematics-logic
local
might
actors
global-unspecified
open
Colombia, South America
Create affordable slope monitoring, drainage, building standards, relocation alternatives, and community warning systems for rapidly growing hillside settlements.
social-civic-problems
south-america
colombia
hillside
reducing
landslide
risks
informal
development
create
affordable
slope
monitoring
systems
society-governance
settlements
climate-environment
economics-resources
open
South Africa, Africa
Build fair utility, metering, pricing, and dispute-resolution systems that reduce losses without criminalizing households unable to afford formal connections.
local-regional
africa
south-africa
preventing
electricity
theft
while
protecting
energy
access
build
fair
utility
systems
society-governance
climate-environment
technology-computing
global-unspecified
open
Brazil, South America
Design safe, legal, affordable electricity systems where overloaded wiring, theft, insecure tenure, and weak utility trust create chronic fire and outage risks.
local-regional
south-america
brazil
electricity
reliable
high-density
informal
settlements
design
safe
legal
affordable
systems
society-governance
economics-resources
public
climate-environment
technology-computing
Create decentralized treatment, safer chemistry, water reuse, and compliance models for dense clusters of small dyeing units.
science-space
asia
india
dyeing
clusters
reducing
chemical
contamination
textile
create
decentralized
treatment
safer
water
climate-environment
small
informal
haven
Design toilets, containment, emptying, transport, and treatment systems that function during floods without exposing residents or sanitation workers to waste.
climate-environment
africa
nigeria
sanitation
making
services
viable
flood-prone
informal
settlements
design
toilets
containment
systems
society-governance
economics-resources
public
technology-computing
Develop equitable restoration plans that improve water quality without simply displacing low-income residents or relocating pollution downstream.
climate-environment
asia
india
restoring
urban
rivers
constrained
informal
settlements
industry
develop
equitable
restoration
society-governance
economics-resources
global-unspecified
water
african
Develop mapping, treatment, and enforcement strategies where homes, workshops, tanneries, and small factories discharge into the same unmanaged drainage networks.
climate-environment
asia
india
drainage
separating
industrial
wastewater
domestic
informal
settlements
develop
mapping
treatment
economics-resources
society-governance
urban
social-civic-problems
health-biology
Map and mitigate heavy metals, flame retardants, acids, and other pollutants leaching from informal electronics-processing sites into drinking-water aquifers.
climate-environment
africa
ghana
informal
detecting
groundwater
contamination
e-waste
recycling
map
mitigate
heavy
metals
settlements
economics-resources
waste
society-governance
global-unspecified
Develop surveillance and quarantine systems that work across informal nurseries, border markets, and online plant commerce where official controls are weak.
economics-resources
informal
plant
preventing
invasive
pest
spread
trade
develop
surveillance
quarantine
settlements
systems
society-governance
technology-computing
without
public
health-biology
Develop economically viable integrated pest-management alternatives for small growers who rely on highly toxic chemicals because safer options are inaccessible or ineffective.
economics-resources
africa
kenya
replacing
hazardous
pesticide
informal
vegetable
production
develop
economically
viable
integrated
settlements
local
climate-environment
circular
society-governance
open
Bolivia, South America
Develop accessible monitoring for silica dust exposure and early lung damage among artisanal miners and construction workers who lack occupational health coverage.
health-biology
south-america
bolivia
early
detection
silicosis
informal
mining
communities
develop
accessible
monitoring
silica
global-unspecified
health
whether
philosophy-ethics
environmental
Develop surveillance and affordable safety protocols for dialysis delivered in fragmented private and informal systems, where contamination and equipment reuse may go undocumented.
society-governance
africa
egypt
informal
dialysis
mapping
unsafe
practices
develop
surveillance
affordable
safety
protocols
systems
settlements
economics-resources
technology-computing
without
Create field-deployable chemical verification methods that pharmacies, regulators, and patients can use to distinguish authentic cancer drugs from counterfeit or degraded products.
health-biology
africa
nigeria
supply-chain
verification
counterfeit
rapid
oncology
medicines
informal
supply
chains
create
field-deployable
global-unspecified
economics-resources
whether
philosophy-ethics
Registering a new business in Germany often requires navigating multiple disconnected agencies with redundant paperwork, discouraging formalization of small enterprises.
climate-environment
europe
germany
business
reducing
bureaucratic
delay
registration
processes
registering
new
often
africa
south
ukraine
poland
open
Solomon Islands, Oceania
Despite recognition of its importance, reliable methods for passive cooling and ventilation systems for informal settlement housing are still lacking. Progress is hindered by incomplete mechanistic knowledge, high capital and operational barriers, and the absence of deployment models suited to the contexts of greatest need.
social-civic-problems
oceania
solomon-islands
passive
cooling
ventilation
systems
informal
settlement
housing
breakthrough
approaches
despite
climate-environment
society-governance
methods
economics-resources
barriers
Informal-sector workers in Yemen are largely excluded from formal credit because they lack the documented income history traditional lenders require, forcing reliance on high-interest informal lenders.
economics-resources
asia
yemen
credit
informal-sector
workers
extending
affordable
lenders
largely
excluded
formal
informal
sector
mathematics-logic
might
local
actors
Refugees hosted near Pakistan frequently possess professional qualifications that are not recognized locally, forcing skilled individuals into informal or unrelated low-wage work.
economics-resources
asia
pakistan
near
integrating
refugee
populations
host
labor
markets
refugees
hosted
building
displaced
vietnam
fiji
open
Colombia, South America
Electronic waste volumes in Colombia are rising rapidly, but formal recycling capacity remains minimal, pushing most e-waste into informal, hazardous dismantling operations.
climate-environment
south-america
colombia
e-waste
recycling
scaling
infrastructure
electronic
waste
volumes
rising
rapidly
global-unspecified
systems
informal
urban
african