MetaProblem

MetaProblem: The set of all problems that make up a single problem -- the one you have to solve.

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Main Entry: meta %%%Function: adjective %%%Definition: self-referential; referring to itself or its characteristics, esp. as a parody; about %%%Example: That book is so meta. %%%Etymology: meta `beyond'

Source: Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.5)

A meta movie is a movie about making a movie.

A meta problem is the problem with the problem, no?

Pehaps the root problem behind a set of problems is more the meaning suggested here.

This is where the obvious problems are the result of some root problem which must be solved first since the symtomatic problems may not be fixable otherwise.