Health workers at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City said August 6 that too little global AIDS funding is allocated toward treating children and preventing mother-to-child HIV infections, The New York Times reports.

“Children orphaned by AIDS are, sadly, only the tip of the iceberg of HIV-affected children,” said Linda Richter, who gave the first plenary lecture on children in the 17-year history of the conference. She said that children in communities affected by HIV need psychological, nutritional and other support. Richter added that much of the money for children in developing countries enrolled in AIDS programs went to consultants and overhead costs, and that far too few infants are being tested for HIV.

According to Jim Yong Kim, MD, PhD, of Harvard University, only 6 to 10 percent of children needing antiretroviral therapy were receiving it, compared with 30 percent of positive adults.