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.
Publicly citable
Every problem has a stable citation code for reference and discussion.
Filtered by relevance
Search by category, geography, status, and keywords.
Builder-oriented
Use the repository to find startup ideas, policy leads, and research agendas.
4194Total
4194Open
0Solved
9Humans
Rapidly urbanizing areas of Poland experience worsening heat-island effects, yet most cities lack neighborhood-level heat alert systems tied to actionable cooling-center and outreach protocols.
local-regional
europe
poland
systems
heat
building
early-warning
extreme
events
urban
rapidly
urbanizing
society-governance
climate-environment
technology-computing
global-unspecified
economics-resources
cities
Informal waste pickers in Philippines recover a substantial share of recyclable material but operate without legal recognition, safety equipment, or fair pricing from recycling buyers.
economics-resources
asia
philippines
informal
formalizing
waste-picker
livelihoods
waste
pickers
recover
substantial
share
settlements
systems
picker
climate-environment
global-unspecified
urban
Farmers in India apply fertilizer without knowing their soil's actual nutrient profile because lab testing is too slow and expensive, resulting in both wasted input costs and degraded soil over time.
health-biology
asia
india
building
affordable
soil-health
diagnostics
smallholders
soil
farmers
apply
fertilizer
health
climate-environment
global-unspecified
way
philosophy-ethics
whether
open
Haiti, North America
Small businesses in Haiti that adopt solar power still face frequent downtime because battery storage remains too expensive to bridge non-sunny periods, limiting productive use of electricity.
climate-environment
north-america
haiti
solar
power
small
businesses
storing
intermittent
affordably
adopt
face
global-unspecified
whether
haven
technology-computing
remains
open
Colombia, South America
Fast-growing cities in Colombia regularly flood due to undersized or absent stormwater infrastructure, with retrofit costs far exceeding current municipal budgets.
climate-environment
south-america
colombia
stormwater
infrastructure
cities
building
resilient
flood-prone
fast-growing
regularly
flood
society-governance
african
urban
global-unspecified
change
governance
open
Brazil, South America
Land ownership records in Brazil remain largely paper-based and inconsistently maintained, fueling disputes, fraud, and insecurity of tenure that discourage long-term investment.
society-governance
south-america
brazil
land
disputes
digitizing
title
registries
reduce
ownership
records
remain
fraud
global-unspecified
communities
open
Colombia, South America
Hypertension, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease frequently go undiagnosed in Colombia until late stages because primary care lacks point-of-care testing and community health workers lack triage tools calibrated for local risk profiles.
health-biology
south-america
colombia
disease
diagnosing
non-communicable
earlier
underserved
communities
hypertension
diabetes
chronic
non
communicable
global-unspecified
health
whether
haven
open
Chile, South America
Long-term anxiety and depression tied to job insecurity and informal labor in Chile are poorly quantified, making it difficult for policymakers to justify investment in preventive mental health infrastructure.
society-governance
south-america
chile
mental-health
mental
health
measuring
impact
chronic
economic
precarity
long-term
anxiety
health-biology
global-unspecified
african
remains
access
Mangrove forests along Australia's coastline have been cleared for aquaculture and development, and restoration efforts struggle with low seedling survival rates and unclear land tenure over tidal zones.
climate-environment
oceania
australia
mangrove
along
restoring
degraded
ecosystems
coast
forests
coastline
have
global-unspecified
philosophy-ethics
whether
haven
determine
open
Mexico, North America
Stunting rates in parts of Mexico remain high despite food aid programs, because interventions rarely address the underlying combination of dietary diversity, sanitation, and maternal nutrition simultaneously.
health-biology
north-america
mexico
reducing
chronic
child
malnutrition
food-insecure
regions
stunting
rates
parts
food
global-unspecified
climate-environment
access
open
Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa
Vocational training programs in Democratic Republic of Congo frequently teach skills misaligned with current employer demand, leaving graduates underemployed despite completing certification.
economics-resources
africa
democratic-republic-of-congo
vocational
training
demand
democratic
republic
congo
aligning
curricula
actual
labor
global-unspecified
social-civic-problems
open
Papua New Guinea, Oceania
The majority of informal-sector workers in Papua New Guinea have no access to pension savings mechanisms, leaving them financially vulnerable in old age.
economics-resources
oceania
papua-new-guinea
pension
informal-sector
workers
papua
new
guinea
extending
coverage
majority
have
informal
sector
global-unspecified
Limited economic opportunity in rural areas of Morocco is driving large-scale youth migration to cities that lack the infrastructure or job market to absorb them.
economics-resources
africa
morocco
rural
youth
driving
migration
addressing
unemployment
urban
limited
economic
global-unspecified
african
access
remains
infrastructure
Coastal aquifers in Fiji are increasingly contaminated by saltwater intrusion driven by overextraction and rising sea levels, threatening long-term drinking water and irrigation supply.
climate-environment
oceania
fiji
aquifers
saltwater
intrusion
protecting
freshwater
coastal
increasingly
contaminated
driven
global-unspecified
water
long
whether
open
Papua New Guinea, Oceania
Organic waste makes up a large share of landfilled municipal waste in Papua New Guinea, generating methane emissions that could be avoided with accessible composting infrastructure.
climate-environment
oceania
papua-new-guinea
waste
organic
composting
infrastructure
papua
new
guinea
diverting
landfills
makes
global-unspecified
cities
systems
plastic
recycling
open
United States, North America
Coastal communities in United States face progressive land loss from sea-level rise, but planned relocation efforts lack frameworks for preserving livelihoods, land rights, and cultural continuity during resettlement.
economics-resources
north-america
united-states
coastal
communities
sea-level
rise
united
states
relocating
threatened
land
face
climate-environment
fishing
sea
level
global-unspecified
open
United Kingdom, Europe
Communities in Ukraine recovering from disasters have almost no access to trained mental health counselors, and existing psychosocial first-aid programs are not designed to scale past a handful of trained volunteers.
health-biology
europe
united-kingdom
mental-health
psychosocial
disasters
ukraine
scaling
low-cost
support
natural
trained
communities
recovering
low
mental
health
global-unspecified
A large share of rural handpumps and boreholes in Kenya sit broken at any given time because there is no real-time monitoring system to alert maintenance crews before communities revert to unsafe water sources.
climate-environment
africa
kenya
monitoring
water
time
rural
point
functionality
real
large
share
global-unspecified
african
urban
open
South Africa, Africa
Women remain significantly underrepresented in STEM higher education and careers in South Africa, a gap that begins with unequal encouragement and resources at the secondary school level.
social-civic-problems
africa
south-africa
women
stem
south
increasing
representation
fields
remain
significantly
underrepresented
global-unspecified
health-biology
society-governance
open
Chile, South America
Girls in parts of Chile disproportionately drop out of secondary school due to a combination of early marriage pressure, unpaid domestic labor expectations, and lack of safe transportation to school.
social-civic-problems
south-america
chile
school
secondary
girls
reducing
dropout
rates
among
parts
disproportionately
education
remain
gaps
global-unspecified
asia
