Confined Masonry in Latin America

I am working in Latin America, and they commonly use confined masonry where the walls are built of usually very weak block and concrete beams are poured after the block has been laid. The beams are typically every 5-7 courses, and there are columns located at every wall intersection, and at door and window jambs. I wish to design the building efficiently, but I am at a lose for how to design for this. Can the masonry be counted on to carry any sort of load.