WASHINGTON (AFP) — United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads Thursday to Canada for talks expected to focus on Haiti, with an American official voicing hope for progress on setting up an intervention force to address the impoverished Caribbean nation's spiraling security and health crises.

Haiti's government and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have both appealed for international intervention as armed gangs take over vast stretches of the country and a cholera outbreak worsens.

President Joe Biden's administration has made clear it has no desire to send US troops in harm's way but a top official rejected pessimism that no country would step forward amid discussions at the UN Security Council.

"I am very optimistic that the international community and the Security Council will come together around another resolution that would create a multinational force for Haiti," Brian Nichols, the assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, said.

"I strongly disagree with the idea that a resolution authorizing a multinational force is in peril," he told reporters.

The Security Council last week unanimously approved a resolution that targeted gang leaders but it did not address a multinational force.

Nichols said that a "number of countries" have the capacity to lead a mission but that there has been no decision.

US prioritizes police

Blinken said ahead of his trip that solving Haiti's problems would be "difficult, if not impossible" without restoring security.

He reiterated the US focus on building the Haitian National Police, pointing to the delivery on 15 October by the US and Canadian militaries of equipment including armored vehicles.