World Solve

The problem of core costs remaining underfunded continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.

Addressing data costs remaining high is critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda. Current efforts fall short in scale, speed and equity, leaving the most vulnerable behind. Any viable solution must function in low-resource settings with limited specialists, transport, laboratory capacity and broadband. Proposals should specify quantifiable biological, social or environmental outcomes, openly discuss potential risks, and present a realistic pathway for long-term maintenance and local ownership beyond short research pilots.

Long-lived infrastructure and environmental decisions can impose costs on people who cannot vote today. The unresolved problem is creating legitimate institutions that represent future people without removing accountability from current citizens. The solution must work with limited capital, intermittent services, and local maintenance capacity. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.

Patients waste time visiting multiple shops, while inventory data are private and substitution rules are complex. Privacy-preserving stock signals, route optimization, and pharmacist-led protocols could reduce search costs without creating a dominant intermediary. The opportunity is intentionally human-scale: a cooperative, clinic, workshop, school, or municipal team could pilot it within one locality and measure outcomes before expanding. Mathematical modeling can help with route uncertainty, incentives, or resource constraints; entrepreneurship can turn a reliable workflow into a viable service.

Genomic and biomarker-driven therapies will transform oncology and rare disease care, but high costs and limited capacity risk concentrating benefits in wealthy populations. Fair pricing, global data-sharing, and low-cost diagnostics will be critical.

Organised crime, drug trafficking, and gangs erode daily life quality and impose large economic costs on South American societies. Integrated crime-data platforms and evidence-based policing tools could support safer communities.

Rapid decarbonisation efforts raise energy and compliance costs for manufacturers who also face global competition. Industrial decarbonisation toolkits and green-finance matchmaking platforms can help firms adapt.

Rapid decarbonisation efforts raise energy and compliance costs for manufacturers who also face global competition. Industrial decarbonisation toolkits and green-finance matchmaking platforms can help firms adapt.

Pension and healthcare costs rise as the working-age population shrinks, forcing reforms in labour markets and social protection. Modelling tools and policy pilots for sustainable welfare redesign are needed.

Pension and healthcare costs rise as the working-age population shrinks, forcing reforms in labour markets and social protection. Modelling tools and policy pilots for sustainable welfare redesign are needed.

Key ports like Rotterdam and Hamburg face capacity and digitalisation challenges that raise costs and delays. Port-community systems and real-time logistics dashboards could address bottlenecks.

Key ports like Rotterdam and Hamburg face capacity and digitalisation challenges that raise costs and delays. Port-community systems and real-time logistics dashboards could address bottlenecks.

People with disabilities face extra costs and barriers but are often excluded from mainstream social protection schemes. Inclusive targeting criteria and assistive-technology subsidies are needed.

Tariffs and upfront costs block adoption. Pay-as-you-go models and targeted subsidies can improve access.

Poor roads, ports, and digital networks raise costs. Investment and maintenance reforms are needed.

High housing costs and immigration rules restrict movement to opportunity-rich areas. Mobility-support policies can expand choice.

High urban housing costs exceed incomes. Affordable housing finance and supply-side interventions can help.

Sparse populations and poor roads make rural delivery expensive, limiting e-commerce expansion beyond cities. Shared rural delivery hubs and route-optimization software could reduce costs.

Out-of-pocket medical expenses remain extremely high in countries without universal coverage, forcing families to sell assets during health crises. Affordable micro-health-insurance products could reduce this financial shock.

Farmers burn leftover stubble to quickly clear fields for the next planting season, despite bans and health costs. Affordable stubble-collection machinery and biomass-to-energy ventures could offer alternatives.