The IMF, in its annual report for the fiscal year that ended April 30, also pledged to examine its role in poor countries and study how it can help these nations deal with economic shocks.

As of April 2003 there were 77 low-income countries eligible for the fund's poverty reduction programme. At the end of April the programme had disbursed about $14 billion.

The fund said it recognised that changing circumstances for many low-income nations, especially those that had stabilised their economies and increased growth, warranted "the need for evolution in the fund's role."

Non-governmental groups say the IMF's low-interest loan programme for poor countries changes economic structures rather than honing in on reducing poverty.

Oliver Buston, policy adviser for Oxfam, the international aid and development group, said when the fund sets fiscal deficit targets for poor countries it pays to little attention to the impact on poverty.

"The fund needs to do much more to open up the debate about the trade-off between short term macroeconomic targets and long term poverty reduction goals," he said.

Buston said the IMF's conservative and short-term approach was a problem because it played gatekeeper for debt relief and aid to poor countries.

"So when a country misses the fund's fiscal deficit target, this can mean that hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and debt relief are held up with major implications for the country's ability to tackle poverty," he said.

An IMF discussion paper, released on Wednesday, addressed criticism of the programme and suggested design changes to ensure macroeconomic frameworks are geared toward higher pro-poor growth rates.

The paper also explored if the fund should work with other development partners to ensure reforms are implemented.