Explain the “mountain climber syndrome” and its relation to policy agendas.

What will be an ideal response?

“Mountain climber syndrome” reflects the phenomenon in which society appears willing to spend almost any amount of money to rescue a single stranded mountain climber but will not spend the same amount of money to save many more lives by, for example, controlling automobile accidents or vaccinating children. Statistical lives are not nearly so visible and comprehensible as an identifiable individual stuck on the side of a mountain. Therefore, the visibility of a problem may affect its placement on an agenda as an active issue.