Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrapped up a six-day visit to Latin America and the Caribbean Friday with a visit to a notorious slum in the Haitian capital, a symbolic step to show Canadian aid to the impoverished country is making a difference.

Heavily armed United Nations troops accompanied Harper's motorcade through Cité Soleil, a sprawling slum area of Port-au-Prince. One soldier pointed a machine gun directly at crowds gathered along the rutted roadway.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper chats with women waiting to have their children vaccinated while visiting a hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday.
(Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

While there, Harper donated a blood analyzing machine to the Hospital Sainte Catherine Laboure, where several Canadian doctors work. He also watched as a number of children were vaccinated against polio.

Harper was also to meet with Haitian President Rene Preval Friday before returning to Ottawa in the late afternoon.

Officials travelling with Harper had considered cancelling the visit after hearing reports a tropical storm was forming in the region, but decided early Monday it would be safe for the prime minister to go ahead.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. The average Haitian makes $450 per year, close to 50 per cent of the population is illiterate and life expectancy is around 52 years.

In 2006, Canada committed $520 million over five years to Haiti.

In a speech to Barbadian business leaders Thursday night, Harper said Canada wants to help Haiti "break the cycle of poverty and violence."

"To do so requires a firm foundation of security," he said.

"Which is why Canada is focusing on police training. We have up to 100 police officers attached to the United Nations mission in Haiti."

In 2005, a former RCMP officer was shot and killed while on patrol in Cité Soleil. Mark Bourque was part of a Canadian police contingent helping provide security for that country's election.

Harper has visited Colombia, Chile and Barbados, where he's stressed free trade and closer ties within the Americas.

With files from the Canadian Press