The International Monetary Fund has endorsed targeted changes to the design and implementation of its lending programs after reviewing programs conducted from January 2018 through December 2024. The review covered a period marked by the US-China trade war during President Donald Trump's first term, the COVID pandemic and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Its central recommendation is to pursue fewer but deeper reforms, with better risk assessment, more realistic project financing and a balance between revenue growth and fiscal consolidation (reducing budget deficits). The IMF said front-loaded fiscal adjustments, or budget cuts, can improve the chances of program success, but should be used only when feasible and paired with credible growth measures and sufficient social spending to protect vulnerable groups. Civil society organizations fear the changes could impose tougher austerity on developing countries facing higher public debt, borrowing costs, reduced official development assistance and repeated systemic shocks. The IMF said the objective is to improve program implementation and outcomes rather than reduce standards. It is also introducing a medium-term structural reform tool to sequence and tailor key reforms, alongside tools that would help staff adjust programs when new shocks arise. Critics, including Jubilee USA Network Executive Director Eric LeCompte and former IMF strategy chief Martin Muehleisen, questioned whether the institution has enforced conditions consistently and whether past programs adequately protected public services or prevented repeated debt crises.