‘Only God can change this place’: Haitians see no end to spiralling violence

More than a dozen bullet-ridden bodies lay in the street - the victims of the latest gang rampage. The home of a judge was also attacked - a clear message to the country#39;s elites vying for power. The UN has also estimated, because of the closure of so many hospitals in the capital, some 3,000 pregnant women were at risk of having to give birth with no maternity care. The first cries of Baby Woodley, just a day old, were the same as those of children born anywhere: for food and for comfort.

But as most children born there, she will grow up to find that such essentials are far from guaranteed in Haiti. Dr Mardoche Clervil, the hospital#39;s obstetrician, showed us around dark and empty wards and said that the gangs were making it tough to find enough fuel. Louisemanie was eight-and-a-half months pregnant when she came into hospital. By then, she had dangerously high blood pressure and lost the baby.

Pregnant women had travelled from Port-au-Prince to give birth in the relative safety of Cap-Haitien. Across the country, the humanitarian need is now critical and the aid response so far has been painfully slow. Louisemanie was only too aware that her loss was avoidable. The essential things of life - food, water and safe shelter - are increasingly hard to find for millions.

More than 360,000 internally displaced people in the conflict. One woman admits she is struggling to provide food and water for her children. She says only God can change this place because from where she is sitting she can#39;t see where other change is coming from.