au-Prince, Feb 24, 2010, SPA -- The death toll from Haiti's mammoth earthquake has climbed to 222,517, according to UN and Haitian officials, dpa cited a Haitian media report as saying. The number of wounded stood at 310,900, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Haitian civil rescue authorities cited by Haiti's Radio Metropole. About 1 million people were left homeless by the Januaryh 12 magnitude 7 quake, the radio reported. The death toll represented confirmed deaths. Over the weekend, Haitian President Rene Preval said the death toll could reach 300,000, saying that tens of thousands of victims could still be buried in the rubble. In Washington, the International Monetary Fund said it was working with Haiti's central bank to design a partial credit guarantee fund aimed at maintaining financial stability and restarting private sector credit. "This proposal will be critical to allowing the private sector to fully play its role in rebuilding the economy and providing jobs, in the context of the broader reconstruction and economic recovery," the IMF said in a statement.
