Latin American institutions continue to help quake-hit Haiti recover by providing financial and material support, local media reported Monday.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) was on Monday considering the possibility of creating a mechanism to relieve the Caribbean nation's debt totaling US$441 million that it owes to the bank.

It also donated 222 million dollars to Haiti to finance new projects since 2007, which makes Haiti the only country receiving donations from the bank.

For 50 years, the IDB has been a source of financial and technical assistance in vital areas like infrastructure, water, sanitation and agriculture.

Foreign ministers of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) gathered in Caracas on Monday and reached an agreement to launch an integral project for disaster relief efforts in Haiti, including some 20 million dollars for Haiti's health sector.

The contributed resources will be used to assist in trauma treatment, disease control, as well as rehabilitation.

Venezuelan Health Minister Carlos Rotondaro said ALBA will also work on the recovery of hospitals and establishing ten centers for integral diagnosis, which will not only respond to the emergency, but also contribute to improving Haitians' quality of life in the future.

ALBA on Monday also approved a plan of eight proposals to aid the education, food, agriculture, security, energy transportation and logistic sectors in Haiti.

Brazil's Oswaldo Cruz Foundation announced on Monday that it would donate 40 tons of medicine to Haiti.

The donation is allocated from the reserves of Farmanguinhos, the foundation's pharmaceutical lab, and consists of medical kits containing 24 kinds of medicine, including antibiotics, painkillers, anti-inflammatory and anti-hypertensive drugs, salts for oral rehydration and medication for scabies.

The lab's director Hayne Felipe stressed that, as a public institution, it is Farmanguinhos' obligation to show solidarity in times of difficulty.

"The tragedy in Haiti had unimaginable proportions. If we can help our Haitian brothers, we must do so," said Felipe.

(Xinhua News Agency January 26, 2010)