it's not callous, and there is certainly an element of group hysteria to well-publicised threats to life like this and the Chliean miner rescue - we do not as a

it's not callous, and there is certainly an element of group hysteria to well-publicised threats to life like this and the Chliean miner rescue - we do not as a general rule attempt the same urgent response to greater threats to life such as malaria, starvation etc. But the difference I believe is that these incidents are short-term and can be saved by a burst of coordinated effort, whereas other causes of greater death are often structural and hard to impact without a charity's organisational efforts - for example, reducing malaria deaths is a complex web of fundraising, acquisition, distribution, education, and probably many other factors I am not aware of. A million dollars can save 13 lives now, or maybe-hopefully make an impact when added the existing pool of resources dedicated to reducing the impact of hunger or disease.