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
The problem of reproductive rights being rolled back 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.
reproductive
rights
being
rolled
back
other
Future progress on human development and planetary health depends on solving customary law conflicting with rights. Conventional approaches have proven insufficient. The required intervention must integrate community knowledge, data and appropriate technology while remaining affordable, privacy-preserving and operable with minimal external support. Strong solutions will articulate measurable impact metrics, risk mitigation strategies, and a plan for sustained operation by local actors after the pilot phase.
customary
law
conflicting
rights
establishing
society-governance
Addressing widow rights being denied 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.
widow
rights
being
denied
2030
mathematics-logic
Future progress on human development and planetary health depends on solving property rights for women remaining weak. Conventional approaches have proven insufficient. The required intervention must integrate community knowledge, data and appropriate technology while remaining affordable, privacy-preserving and operable with minimal external support. Strong solutions will articulate measurable impact metrics, risk mitigation strategies, and a plan for sustained operation by local actors after the pilot phase.
remaining
property
rights
women
weak
social-civic-problems
States may increasingly use prediction to allocate policing, welfare, migration, health, and education resources. Future rights frameworks must address errors, feedback loops, opacity, and the danger of being treated as a probability rather than a person. 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.
social-civic-problems
rights
constitutional
people
governed
predictive
systems
low-income
communities
must
states
technology-computing
economics-resources
climate-environment
society-governance
infrastructure
quantum
science-space
Addressing human rights monitors being blocked 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.
human
rights
monitors
being
blocked
mathematics-logic
rights of assembly being blocked remains one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Systems currently in place are inadequate for the scale and complexity of the problem. A successful approach must work where resources are scarcest and demonstrate clear, measurable results. It should identify possible harms, respect local agency, and show how the solution can be maintained and expanded by the communities it is meant to serve.
rights
assembly
being
blocked
designing
other
indigenous rights being ignored remains one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Systems currently in place are inadequate for the scale and complexity of the problem. A successful approach must work where resources are scarcest and demonstrate clear, measurable results. It should identify possible harms, respect local agency, and show how the solution can be maintained and expanded by the communities it is meant to serve.
indigenous
rights
being
ignored
establishing
other
Selling the right to control how one is first perceived by others commodifies initial social encounters. The problem is protecting authentic self-presentation from advance commercial capture.
first
preventing
markets
future
impression
economics-resources
If people can sell the rights to their anticipated future regrets, they may later be forced to experience or suppress emotions for the buyer’s benefit. The challenge is protecting emotional autonomy from advance commodification that locks individuals into predetermined affective paths.
future
regrets
preventing
market
personal
economics-resources
When the first person to capture an image of a cloud asserts property rights, the atmosphere itself becomes a contested resource. The problem is keeping the sky as a shared commons while still recognising legitimate creative or scientific claims on specific observations.
claims
resolving
ownership
over
photographed
technology-computing
Urban platforms that reposition based on market indicators create unpredictable geography, disrupt supply chains, and separate communities. The problem is coordinating mobility, infrastructure continuity, and resident rights when the ground itself moves for financial reasons.
platforms
stabilizing
floating
cities
whose
economics-resources
Interactive reconstructions of dead relatives may demand ongoing inclusion in gatherings, decisions, and emotional life. The problem is setting boundaries that respect both the living family’s autonomy and any residual rights or wishes of the deceased without forcing perpetual digital presence.
digital
deceased
family
life
managing
technology-computing
When corporations patent forms of rainwater collection or composition in water-scarce areas, ordinary puddles and runoff become potential infringement sites. The challenge is designing water-rights frameworks that protect both innovation incentives and the basic human need for free access to precipitation.
rainwater
resolving
legal
ownership
conflicts
climate-environment
When companion animals gain the ability to express complex preferences and demands, existing ownership models break down. The problem is defining rights, responsibilities, and welfare standards that protect both animals and humans without creating unmanageable legal or social burdens.
legal
establishing
ethical
frameworks
pets
philosophy-ethics
Border systems may increasingly use risk scoring, biometric checks, and predictive screening. The unresolved problem is ensuring security tools do not become opaque instruments of arbitrary exclusion or rights violations. The challenge is especially acute in informal settlements, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.
health-biology
africa
nigeria
systems
exclusion
border
informal
settlements
preventing
automated
migration
may
increasingly
society-governance
technology-computing
public
climate-environment
across
Digitizing land records can improve access while also enabling new forms of fraud, corruption, and system failure. The challenge is designing registry governance that protects ownership claims, customary rights, and dispute resolution over decades. The challenge is especially acute in informal settlements, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.
society-governance
europe
germany
land
fraud
informal
settlements
making
registries
resilient
against
data
loss
systems
technology-computing
public
across
climate-environment
open
United States, North America
AI systems trained on globally diverse data may encode incompatible assumptions about fairness, authority, family, privacy, and acceptable risk. The challenge is creating pluralistic evaluation methods that protect universal rights without imposing one culture's values as a universal standard. 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.
economics-resources
north-america
united-states
evaluation
systems
alignment
cultures
political
low-income
communities
universal
trained
globally
technology-computing
climate-environment
society-governance
quantum
infrastructure
As heat, flooding, drought, and erosion intensify, some communities will need to move. The challenge is designing relocation policy that protects land rights, livelihoods, identity, and consent rather than turning climate adaptation into forced displacement. The challenge is especially acute in informal settlements, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.
climate-environment
climate
relocation
informal
settlements
governance
dispossession
heat
flooding
drought
erosion
society-governance
systems
technology-computing
across
public
migration
Future states will need identity systems that work for migrants, displaced people, informal workers, and citizens missing formal paperwork. The challenge is building identity infrastructure that expands access without becoming a surveillance or exclusion tool. The challenge is especially acute in informal settlements, where legacy systems, coordination failures, and weak oversight can magnify harm.
technology-computing
asia
bangladesh
identity
informal
settlements
designing
rights-preserving
digital
residents
documents
systems
future
society-governance
public
climate-environment
without
across