1) Many nations have been faced with the problem of …
2) Recently the problem has been brought into focus.
3) Recently the phenomenon has become a heated topic.
4) Recently the issue has aroused great concern among …
5) Nowadays there is a growing concern over …
6) Never in our history has the idea that … been so popular.
7) Faced with …, quite a few people argue that …
8) According to a recent survey, …
9) With the rapid development of …, …