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
open
Haiti, North America
Women in rural areas of Haiti often travel long distances for reproductive healthcare, and the shortage of trained providers leaves many without access to family planning or maternal care services.
economics-resources
north-america
haiti
access
reproductive
healthcare
rural
expanding
safe
women
areas
often
global-unspecified
remains
african
urban
open
South Africa, Africa
A large share of primary school students in South Africa cannot read a simple sentence by the expected grade level, reflecting gaps in teacher training and curriculum pacing rather than school attendance alone.
social-civic-problems
africa
south-africa
gaps
primary
students
south
closing
foundational
literacy
among
school
global-unspecified
mathematics-logic
open
Chile, South America
Despite recognition of its importance, reliable methods for pathways for achieving high rates of energy efficiency and demand reduction in buildings and industry are still lacking. Progress is hindered by incomplete mechanistic knowledge, high capital and operational barriers, and the absence of deployment models suited to the contexts of greatest need.
climate-environment
south-america
chile
high
pathways
achieving
rates
energy
efficiency
demand
reduction
buildings
industry
systems
methods
society-governance
barriers
designs
open
Paraguay, South America
Achieving protocols for the rapid and equitable deployment of climate adaptation technologies at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.
climate-environment
south-america
paraguay
protocols
rapid
equitable
deployment
climate
adaptation
technologies
overcoming
barriers
achieving
economics-resources
systems
society-governance
methods
technology-computing
Existing crop insurance schemes in Pakistan are financially unworkable for smallholder farmers due to high premiums, slow claims verification, and payout structures poorly matched to localized weather risk.
climate-environment
asia
pakistan
crop
insurance
designing
products
viable
smallholders
existing
schemes
financially
smallholder
farmers
economics-resources
global-unspecified
open
Colombia, South America
A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for real-time systems for detecting and responding to the emergence of novel zoonotic diseases. Scientific understanding, engineering readiness and institutional capacity remain insufficient to translate promising concepts into durable impact under real-world constraints of cost, skills and governance.
society-governance
south-america
colombia
real-time
systems
detecting
responding
emergence
novel
zoonotic
diseases
development
persistent
solutions
methods
ensuring
scalable
real
open
Chile, South America
The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for city-scale anthropogenic versus biogenic CO2 attribution networks creates cascading risks across interconnected human and natural systems. Key missing elements include durable performance, low lifetime cost, and governance arrangements capable of sustaining impact beyond pilot stages.
society-governance
south-america
chile
solutions
city-scale
anthropogenic
versus
biogenic
co2
attribution
networks
scalable
absence
systems
climate-environment
methods
robust
enabling
open
Ecuador, South America
Despite recognition of its importance, reliable methods for solutions for providing reliable digital connectivity in remote and disaster-affected areas are still lacking. Progress is hindered by incomplete mechanistic knowledge, high capital and operational barriers, and the absence of deployment models suited to the contexts of greatest need.
technology-computing
south-america
ecuador
reliable
barriers
solutions
providing
digital
connectivity
remote
disaster-affected
areas
overcoming
climate-environment
methods
society-governance
systems
health-biology
The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for pathways for achieving universal access to clean cooking without locking in high emissions creates cascading risks across interconnected human and natural systems. Key missing elements include durable performance, low lifetime cost, and governance arrangements capable of sustaining impact beyond pilot stages.
society-governance
europe
romania
solutions
pathways
achieving
universal
access
clean
cooking
locking
high
emissions
systems
climate-environment
methods
robust
enabling
Achieving mechanisms for aligning the incentives of financial institutions with climate and sustainability outcomes at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.
climate-environment
europe
poland
systems
mechanisms
aligning
incentives
financial
institutions
climate
sustainability
outcomes
field-ready
economics-resources
society-governance
ensuring
technology-computing
methods
open
United Kingdom, Europe
Farmers in Ukraine widely rely on diesel pumps for irrigation, and solar-powered alternatives remain financially out of reach without financing mechanisms tailored to seasonal farm income.
economics-resources
europe
united-kingdom
irrigation
diesel
ukraine
electrifying
agricultural
dependence
farmers
widely
rely
pumps
without
africa
poland
egypt
pakistan
open
Colombia, South America
The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for interventions that improve the nutritional quality of diets in low- and middle-income countries creates cascading risks across interconnected human and natural systems. Key missing elements include durable performance, low lifetime cost, and governance arrangements capable of sustaining impact beyond pilot stages.
society-governance
south-america
colombia
interventions
improve
nutritional
quality
diets
low
middle-income
countries
deployable
technologies
systems
solutions
climate-environment
methods
robust
open
Ecuador, South America
The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for nature-based solutions for landslide risk reduction on steep slopes in tropical regions creates cascading risks across interconnected human and natural systems. Key missing elements include durable performance, low lifetime cost, and governance arrangements capable of sustaining impact beyond pilot stages.
society-governance
south-america
ecuador
solutions
nature-based
landslide
risk
reduction
steep
slopes
tropical
regions
breakthrough
systems
climate-environment
methods
enabling
nature
Mobile money platforms widely used in Peru are frequent targets of SIM-swap and social engineering fraud, and current verification protocols are insufficient to prevent account takeovers.
technology-computing
south-america
peru
mobile
money
platforms
fraud
securing
against
widely
frequent
targets
global-unspecified
african
remains
philosophy-ethics
open
Brazil, South America
Despite recognition of its importance, reliable methods for affordable methods for continuous monitoring of air and water quality in informal settlements are still lacking. Progress is hindered by incomplete mechanistic knowledge, high capital and operational barriers, and the absence of deployment models suited to the contexts of greatest need.
climate-environment
south-america
brazil
methods
affordable
continuous
monitoring
air
water
quality
informal
settlements
robust
society-governance
systems
economics-resources
enabling
health-biology
open
Brazil, South America
Dengue surveillance in Brazil is largely retrospective, relying on confirmed case counts reported weeks after transmission has already accelerated, rather than integrating mosquito density, rainfall, and mobility data into a forward-looking model.
local-regional
south-america
brazil
dengue
predicting
localized
outbreaks
peak
surveillance
largely
retrospective
relying
peru
colombia
mexico
haiti
The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for low-cost genomic surveillance platforms for endemic and emerging pathogens creates cascading risks across interconnected human and natural systems. Key missing elements include durable performance, low lifetime cost, and governance arrangements capable of sustaining impact beyond pilot stages.
society-governance
south-america
peru
low-cost
genomic
surveillance
platforms
endemic
emerging
pathogens
deployable
technologies
absence
solutions
systems
climate-environment
enabling
robust
open
Paraguay, South America
Current approaches to self-healing structural composites for marine cyclic loading either underperform under variable field conditions or generate externalities that undermine long-term sustainability and equity. Closing the gap requires coordinated advances in science, systems design and enabling institutions.
society-governance
south-america
paraguay
self-healing
structural
composites
marine
cyclic
loading
integrated
pathways
current
approaches
systems
climate-environment
enabling
solutions
under
Germany's aging population is outpacing the development of affordable elder care facilities and trained caregiving staff, leaving many families without support for elderly relatives.
social-civic-problems
europe
germany
affordable
elder
care
aging
building
infrastructure
populations
population
outpacing
global-unspecified
health-biology
philosophy-ethics
open
Argentina, South America
A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for governance models for ensuring the equitable distribution of benefits from AI and automation. Scientific understanding, engineering readiness and institutional capacity remain insufficient to translate promising concepts into durable impact under real-world constraints of cost, skills and governance.
society-governance
south-america
argentina
governance
models
ensuring
equitable
distribution
benefits
automation
field-ready
systems
persistent
solutions
methods
scalable
enabling
practical