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
Overgrazing and desertification in Central Asian steppes reduce pastoral yields, impoverishing rural herder communities who rely entirely on livestock assets.
economics-resources
asia
kazakhstan
pastoral
central
haven
established
land
degradation
neutrality
mechanisms
protect
livelihoods
rural
communities
global-unspecified
automated
farms
Over-application of agrochemicals has accelerated insect resistance in rice and vegetable farming, causing sudden pest outbreaks and severe localized crop failures.
health-biology
asia
vietnam
pest
resistance
haven
halted
proliferation
against
conventional
pesticides
intensive
monsoon
systems
building
antimicrobial
early
detecting
Lead, cadmium, and mercury leach into surrounding farmland soils, contaminating staples like leafy vegetables and tubers consumed by local communities.
climate-environment
asia
china
haven
eliminated
dangerous
heavy
metal
uptake
food
crops
grown
near
waste
recovery
local
economics-resources
coastal
Poor supply chain oversight allows fake antibiotics, malaria medications, and life-saving drugs to enter rural retail markets, leading to treatment failures and drug resistance.
economics-resources
asia
myanmar
supply-chain
rural
haven
solved
crisis
counterfeit
substandard
pharmaceuticals
circulating
decentralized
pharmacies
global-unspecified
health-biology
african
philosophy-ethics
High maternal mortality rates persist among ethnic minority groups due to language barriers, geographic isolation, and institutional distrust of state medical facilities.
health-biology
asia
laos
maternal
haven
integrated
culturally
sensitive
neonatal
health
services
indigenous
mountain
communities
access
economics-resources
social-civic-problems
society-governance
Combination of high humidity and extreme ambient heat routinely exceeds human survivability thresholds during summer months, causing heatstroke and acute kidney injury.
health-biology
asia
qatar
public-health
extreme
haven
contained
public
health
impact
wet-bulb
temperatures
outdoor
construction
heat
society-governance
climate-environment
systems
Vocational institutes in developing Asian economies continue to train youth for declining fossil-fuel industries rather than solar installation, EV maintenance, and sustainable forestry.
climate-environment
asia
pakistan
vocational
industries
haven
created
accredited
technical
education
pathways
aligned
green
society-governance
economics-resources
social-civic-problems
global-unspecified
training
Schools in high-risk disaster zones teach abstract science without practical climate resilience, disaster survival, and local ecosystem stewardship modules.
climate-environment
asia
sri-lanka
climate-change
climate
haven
integrated
comprehensive
change
adaptation
curricula
primary
public
school
society-governance
systems
under
methods
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
Discriminatory land tenure norms prevent women from owning real estate, which standard commercial banks require as collateral to secure business growth loans.
economics-resources
asia
bangladesh
loans
collateral
haven
overcome
financial
exclusion
female
entrepreneurs
seeking
formal
global-unspecified
technology-computing
african
whether
philosophy-ethics
Women perform the vast majority of line-level factory work in textile exports but are consistently passed over for supervisory, engineering, and managerial promotions.
society-governance
asia
vietnam
haven
closed
persistent
gender
pay
gap
manufacturing
garment
assembly
sectors
economics-resources
global-unspecified
formal
sector
philosophy-ethics
Ubiquitous sexual harassment on public transit restricts women's mobility, limiting their access to employment, higher education, and public spaces.
science-space
asia
nepal
public-transport
public
haven
established
safe
harassment-free
transport
infrastructure
female
commuters
expanding
society-governance
global-unspecified
technology-computing
economics-resources
High electricity costs lead small-scale leather and textile processors to bypass treatment systems, dumping heavy metals directly into river basins.
climate-environment
asia
pakistan
treatment
systems
haven
developed
energy-efficient
industrial
wastewater
small
medium-scale
dyeing
society-governance
technology-computing
global-unspecified
mathematics-logic
philosophy-ethics
Standard lithium-ion battery arrays suffer accelerated degradation in tropical ambient temperatures, making grid-scale battery storage prohibitively expensive.
climate-environment
asia
india
storage
tropical
haven
scaled
long-duration
energy
ldes
technologies
optimized
high-temperature
global-unspecified
solar
whether
long
society-governance
Inland freshwater fishermen lose significant portions of their daily catch due to lack of localized ice plants and affordable off-grid refrigeration.
climate-environment
asia
laos
affordable
inland
haven
developed
solar-powered
cold
storage
solutions
smallholder
fisheries
scalable
global-unspecified
whether
society-governance
philosophy-ethics
Generational debt traps bind entire families to uncompensated labor in brick kilns and agriculture, enforced by informal moneylenders outside state oversight.
local-regional
asia
pakistan
labor
brick
kilns
haven
stopped
forced
debt-bonded
regional
rural
agricultural
society-governance
governance
economics-resources
systems
informal
Financial intermediaries charge high transfer fees on small money transfers sent home by low-income migrant workers, stripping billions from vulnerable households.
economics-resources
asia
philippines
fees
migrant
workers
haven
eliminated
predatory
cross-border
remittance
charged
overseas
technology-computing
global-unspecified
informal
health-biology
countries
Sidewalks, public buses, and government buildings across Asian cities overwhelmingly lack ramps, tactile paving, and elevators, excluding disabled citizens from public life.
society-governance
asia
thailand
public
haven
created
universally
accessible
infrastructure
persons
physical
mobility
impairments
global-unspecified
whether
systems
institutions
philosophy-ethics
Encroachment on natural urban drainage lakes leaves rainwater with nowhere to sink, causing severe flash flooding that shuts down entire economic centers.
economics-resources
asia
india
flash
urban
flooding
natural
haven
solved
catastrophic
caused
total
loss
climate-environment
global-unspecified
cities
systems
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
