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
Graduates often hold certificates that employers don't value, while industries report shortages of specific technical skills. Employer-linked apprenticeship and skills-matching platforms could close this mismatch.
technology-computing
asia
vocational
training
remains
disconnected
actual
job
market
demand
graduates
economics-resources
global-unspecified
philosophy-ethics
whether
determine
resolved
way
Cities are growing faster than governments can build roads, utilities, and housing, leading to chronic service shortfalls. Incremental, modular urban planning approaches could help cities adapt more affordably.
society-governance
asia
urban-planning
cities
planning
rapid
unplanned
urbanization
outpacing
infrastructure
asian
growing
faster
urban
climate-environment
african
global-unspecified
systems
open
South & Southeast Asia, Asia
Factory workers, disproportionately women, frequently face unsafe conditions and low wages in export-oriented garment manufacturing. Independent digital labor-monitoring and grievance-reporting platforms could improve accountability.
technology-computing
asia
south-southeast-asia
garment
conditions
textile
industry
labor
south
southeast
often
fall
global-unspecified
digital
african
workers
informal
economics-resources
Medical brain drain to Europe and the Gulf worsens staff shortages, especially in rural clinics. Task-shifting to trained community health workers and telemedicine could partially offset shortages.
health-biology
africa
has
fewer
doctors
per
000
people
countries
shortages
medical
social-civic-problems
rural
task
shifting
designing
health
remains
Many graduates lack skills employers want, while industries report shortages in trades like welding and electrical work. Employer-linked apprenticeship platforms could bridge this skills gap.
economics-resources
africa
technical
vocational
training
mismatched
actual
labor
market
needs
skills
graduates
demand
remains
technology-computing
global-unspecified
aligning
whether
Formal construction cannot keep pace with urban population growth, leaving slums as the default option for new city arrivals. Affordable modular and 3D-printed housing ventures are gaining traction as solutions.
social-civic-problems
africa
housing
shortages
fast-growing
african
cities
pushing
millions
informal
settlements
formal
urban
global-unspecified
society-governance
climate-environment
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
While kinetic impactors work against predictable asteroids, long-period comets can appear with less than a year's warning. Rapid-response high-yield interception systems are needed to protect Earth from unexpected impacts.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
have
proven
way
divert
planet-threatening
comet
short-notice
trajectory
while
kinetic
systems
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
don
determine
Deep social stigma, severe shortages of qualified psychiatric professionals, and centralized medical infrastructure leave hundreds of millions of rural residents without access to mental health diagnosis or intervention.
health-biology
asia
indonesia
mental-health
mental
rural
haven
established
adequate
healthcare
frameworks
tailored
low-resource
asian
access
health
remains
global-unspecified
Seasonal crop burning, industrial emissions, and vehicle exhaust generate high concentrations of PM2.5 across the Indo-Gangetic Plain, shaving years off average life expectancy without unified cross-border environmental governance.
climate-environment
asia
nepal
air-pollution
haven
effectively
mitigated
life-shortening
particulate
air
pollution
major
south
asian
global-unspecified
quality
urban
african
Wage disparities attract talented science and mathematics graduates to private corporations or urban centers, leaving rural public schools under-resourced in technical disciplines.
mathematics-logic
asia
uzbekistan
rural
public
schools
haven
solved
severe
shortage
qualified
stem
teachers
society-governance
social-civic-problems
access
urban
african
Narrow alleys prevent traditional fire trucks from entering slum communities, where electrical short circuits frequently ignite massive, uncontrolled fires.
economics-resources
asia
bangladesh
informal
fire
haven
secured
safety
infrastructure
densely
packed
urban
settlements
society-governance
systems
technology-computing
african
global-unspecified
Lack of employment options leads coastal villagers to use home-made explosives for fishing, destroying coral reefs for short-term yield.
economics-resources
asia
philippines
coastal
fishing
haven
provided
alternative
livelihoods
communities
dependent
destructive
blast
climate-environment
global-unspecified
near
african
lack
Frequent regional power shortages cut off electricity to rural operating rooms and ICU units without automatic solar-battery fail-safes.
local-regional
africa
nigeria
rural
haven
integrated
local
microgrids
smart
load
shedding
protect
hospitals
economics-resources
access
remains
african
public
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Many parts of the world have extremely few mental health professionals relative to their population, leaving most people with mental health needs entirely unsupported. Solving this requires new models of care delivery, not just more funding.
health-biology
global-unspecified
mental-health
mental
health
have
professionals
don
scalable
way
provide
support
regions
whether
philosophy-ethics
determine
resolved
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Many patients with chronic conditions end up back in the hospital shortly after being discharged, often due to gaps in follow-up care rather than a failure of the original treatment. Better post-discharge support remains an unresolved healthcare system issue.
health-biology
global-unspecified
hospital
chronic
patients
haven
found
reliable
way
prevent
readmissions
disease
whether
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
resolved
determine
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Annual budget cycles can force short-term thinking on issues, like infrastructure or education, that really require planning over decades. Building longer-term budgeting tools into government processes remains rare.
society-governance
global-unspecified
government
budgeting
planning
countries
happens
ways
make
long-term
nearly
impossible
african
whether
philosophy-ethics
cities
systems
climate-environment
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
When election results are close or contested, some countries have no clear, agreed procedure for resolving the dispute short of prolonged conflict or unrest. This leaves democratic transitions vulnerable at exactly their most sensitive moment.
society-governance
global-unspecified
countries
clear
election
lack
legal
process
peacefully
transferring
power
disputed
philosophy-ethics
whether
determine
resolved
have
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
New technologies have always displaced some jobs while creating others, but there's no agreed threshold for how much short-term harm is an acceptable cost of long-term progress.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
progress
haven
found
shared
answer
technological
unemployment
society
willing
accept
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
determine
know
mathematics-logic
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Finding the shortest possible route visiting a long list of locations becomes exponentially harder as the list grows, and no fully efficient general solution exists. Logistics, chip design, and delivery networks all run into this limit.
mathematics-logic
global-unspecified
solution
locations
don
have
complete
traveling
salesman
very
large
numbers
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
haven
know
possible
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Many well-paying, in-demand jobs don't require a four-year degree, yet vocational paths still often carry less social and economic status. Rebalancing this perception could ease both skills shortages and student debt burdens.
economics-resources
global-unspecified
vocational
degree
haven
solved
make
apprenticeship
training
valued
traditional
college
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
mathematics-logic
determine