An IMF survey says Africa must accelerate its current strong growth and start making inroads towards poverty reduction. Although enormous problems prevail, several African governments, the private sector and civil society organisations have put in massive efforts to revitalise their economies.

According to John Lipsky, IMF's first deputy managing director, Africa had a great opportunity to take taken advantage of solid global economic growth and debt relief to successfully implement reforms.

The contribution of IMF projects had helped the growth in real GDP in sub-Saharan Africa. Though growth in 2006 was expected to decline to 4.8 per cent from 5.6 per cent in 2005 the IMF expects it to pick up to almost 6.0 per cent in 2007 - Africa's best in decades.

"These reforms, in turn, are improving economic performance. The goal is to create a virtuous circle of reform and faster growth, paving the way for sustained poverty reduction," Lipsky added.

Addressing the West African economic and monetary union meeting in Mali's capital, Bamako, in November, Lipsky said average inflation in the region was the lowest in 25 years, and growth in the past two years had been the highest in a decade.

The challenge now was to accelerate and sustain this growth as it was the only way progress could be made towards reducing poverty, he said.