World Solve

Current approaches to solutions for providing safe and accessible public transport in rapidly growing secondary cities 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.

Early marriage, safety concerns, and poverty drive dropout. Targeted scholarships and safe transport programs can improve completion.

Secondary cities often lack the metro or bus rapid transit systems that ease congestion in capitals, forcing reliance on private vehicles. Lower-cost bus rapid transit models could be replicated more widely.

Secondary cities often have no real-time air-quality data, leaving residents unaware of health risks on high-pollution days. Low-cost sensor networks could extend monitoring coverage affordably.

Menstrual hygiene management gaps and long, unsafe commutes push girls out of the education system permanently. Affordable reusable sanitary pad manufacturing and school-proximity boarding models can help retention.

As secondary cities across Asia rapidly commercialize, low-income slum residents without formal title deeds face forcible evictions without fair compensation or viable alternative housing.

Inadequate sanitation facilities, household chores, and early marriage pressures cause a sharp drop in female secondary school completion across rural communities.

Despite recognition of its importance, reliable methods for solutions for equitable access to high-quality secondary and tertiary education 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.

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.

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.

Create practical risk models and investment plans for fast-growing cities that lack detailed maps, weather records, asset inventories, or technical staff.

Last-mile freight delivery in Egypt's congested cities remains dominated by diesel vehicles, and electric alternatives face high upfront costs and inadequate charging infrastructure.

Achieving interventions that improve the quality and equity of secondary education in low-income countries 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.