"long-term cause" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
You can use it to describe the root cause of an event or occurrence, typically one that may have long-term implications, such as a health condition. For example, "The long-term cause of his chronic illness was a genetic defect."
For this camp, NGOs who partner with the private sector have undermined our mutual, long-term cause.
Decreasing the influence of lobbyists has been a long-term cause of the former prime minister, who called for greater democratisation of the party in a speech to the Liberal party State Council in 2013.
My column over the weekend made the case that the Obama campaign's eagerness to change the subject from the economy to social issues has been winning them news cycles without helping their long-term cause.
In total hip arthroplasty (THA), Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) wear debris generated at the articular surface has been recognized as a long-term cause of loosening and failure of artificial hip joints due to osteolysis.
This can make transparent complex historical (that is, long-term) cause and effect relationships, as well as the relativity of processes in the social history of the affected at least selectively.
We also need a unified vision in order to work in immediate, issue-oriented struggles in a way that advances the long-term cause.
The Armenian Genocide had both short- and long-term causes.
In that way, we can address the long-term causes of crime.
I want us to be different - to deal with the long-term causes".
Anyway, the long-term causes are of less immediate interest to the government than a short-term fix.
But environmental campaigners have complained that they are not doing enough to tackle the long-term causes of the crisis.
