The Director of Child Welfare in Papua New Guinea has called on the government to place children higher on their list of priorities.
Isabel Salatiel says her department is struggling with the the workload of dealing with the country's vulnerable children.
Mrs Salatiel says her department cannot cater for the payment of special allowances for special needs children that are their right under law.
She says the rapid development of PNG has also brought other problems.
"While development is taking place, social issues in relation to child abuse and the epidemic that we have in HIV/Aids, it is caused a lot of instability in families and these are the areas that have shown an increase at this time."
The Director of Child Welfare in PNG, Isabel Salatiel.
