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.
Frequent outages deter investment. Grid modernization and distributed backup systems can help.
Millions of traders, many of them women, move goods informally across borders without access to finance, insurance, or formal logistics, limiting their growth potential. Digital trade facilitation tools and simplified customs regimes tailored to small traders could unlock inclusive growth.
Film, music, and gaming sectors are growing rapidly but creators struggle to access capital and global digital platforms to monetize their work. Regional creative-industry funds and rights-management platforms could help scale talent.
Business owners may have smartphones but lack skills to use accounting, marketing, and inventory apps effectively. Tailored digital-skills training bundled with tools could improve adoption.
High-pressure startup environments with little support contribute to burnout and depression. Peer-support networks and confidential counseling services for founders could improve wellbeing.
Minibus taxis and motorcycle cabs are central to mobility but often ignored in formal planning, causing congestion and safety issues. Data-driven integration of informal transport into city plans could improve systems.
Pretrial detention and harsh conditions contribute to recidivism rather than reintegration. Alternative sentencing and vocational training programs could improve outcomes.
Rising seas and storms may force relocation of neighborhoods, but proactive plans are rare. Scenario-based urban resilience planning and relocation frameworks are urgently needed.
Despite economic growth, poor maternal nutrition and inadequate diets leave nearly a third of children stunted in countries like India. Fortified food distribution and mobile nutrition-tracking for at-risk households could help.
Flooded paddy fields release significant greenhouse gases, yet few affordable low-emission farming techniques have reached smallholders. Alternate wetting-and-drying irrigation methods need wider extension support.
Many staple crops have not been bred for the increasing heat and erratic rainfall smallholders now face. Localized breeding programs and seed-distribution networks need faster scaling.
Naturally occurring contaminants in aquifers in Bangladesh and parts of India cause long-term health damage when consumed untreated. Affordable household filtration technology needs wider distribution.
Open defecation persists in some regions despite large public sanitation campaigns, contributing to disease spread. Low-cost decentralized toilet and sludge-treatment systems could close remaining gaps.
Rapid consumption growth combined with inadequate waste management sends huge volumes of plastic into waterways each year. River-cleaning technology and plastic-to-value recycling startups could intercept waste before it reaches oceans.
Economic growth has disproportionately benefited urban elites, leaving rural and lower-income populations behind. Progressive tax reform and targeted rural investment programs could help redistribute growth benefits.
Millions of workers migrate for jobs in construction, domestic work, and agriculture but face exploitation due to weak bilateral labor agreements. Digital worker-rights registries and stronger bilateral labor treaties could improve protections.
Constant traffic and construction noise in megacities contributes to stress and hearing damage but receives little regulatory attention. Urban noise-mapping tools could inform targeted mitigation policies.
Many rural communities have no way to verify if their drinking water is safe, leading to preventable illness. Low-cost portable water-testing kits distributed through community health workers could close this gap.
Uncorrected vision problems reduce learning outcomes in children and productivity in adults, yet eye care is often unavailable locally. Mobile vision-screening clinics and low-cost eyewear distribution networks could address this cheaply.
Millions rely on informal waste collection and sorting for income but lack safety equipment, fair pay, or legal recognition. Formalizing waste-picker cooperatives with fair-trade recycling partnerships could improve livelihoods.