The newly elected President of the UN Economic and Social Council, Bob Rae, says more work needs to be done to bolster support for Haiti’s police force in the fight against gang violence.

Rae, also Canada’s Ambassador to the UN, just returned from visiting Port-au-Prince.

He told UN News that, “Haiti is still really, really struggling.”

Mr Rae said the multinational security support mission operating in Haiti since June is making gains, including shifting the area of operation of some of the gang activity in the capital Port-au-Prince away from two key hospitals and the main port.

However, he believes more progress is needed as it was impossible to say the country “had turned a corner”.

He added that, “There is still work to be done to make sure the force is big enough and effective enough to make the kind of progress that we need. I think there is a number of things that have to be settled in terms of the protocols and engagement from a number of countries. We’ve got to make sure the medevac system is in place along with other elements.”