A summit of African leaders is due to start in Gabon later today Tuesday with the aim of putting poverty at the centre of its economic policy.

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Michel Camdessus, will also attend.

The IMF and the World Bank's member countries have already agreed a new approach to poverty reduction and debt relief.

But critics argue that the IMF is obsessed with low inflation, and that its economic programmes instituted in various countries achieve that by slashing government spending and making poverty worse.

Mr Camdessus also said that poor countries should continue their efforts to tackle corruption.

Earlier, he called on developed nations to cut their arms exports to Africa.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service