BANTUL, Indonesia (AFP) - The United Nations says it is in a race against time to help survivors still struggling to get food, shelter and urgent medical care one week after the Indonesian earthquake.

Indonesian search and rescue members transfer a patient at an emergency hospital in Yogyakarta. The United Nations says it is in a race against time to help survivors still struggling to get food, shelter and urgent medical care one week after the Indonesian earthquake. [AFP]

Tens of thousands of homeless spent their seventh night out in the open, huddling under makeshift tents of plastic sheeting or tarpaulins, while others went into their second week awaiting treatment at overwhelmed hospitals.

UN officials said bottlenecks in getting aid to the needy had been mostly resolved but after days of watching the death toll rise by hundreds, they said the relief effort would be speeded up.

"We are redoubling efforts on all fronts, trying to race against time, knowing the population could quickly go down to the level of hardship," Puji Pujiono, the UN's deputy area humanitarian coordinator, told AFP.

"We are continuing to do what we can," he said. The United Nations said 100 million dollars was needed over the next six months to cope with the scale of the devastation.

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