During this period, multilateral lending agencies and financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank placed "conditionalities" upon the disbursement of development aid. Countries were required to agree to make a series of "structural adjustments" to their economies, in order to gain financial assistance or engage in refinancing.[8] The common package of policies prescriptions included currency devaluation, privatization or divestiture of state-owned industries ("parastatals")in the health and agricultural sectors, trade liberalization (lowering or elimination of tariffs on imports), cuts in social spending (agriculture, health, education sectors) and strict deficit reductions. Structural Adjustment Programs also led to the phasing out of most fertilizer subsidy programs.[9] Some of the African countries following these guidelines included Benin, Ghana, Madagascar, Senegal, Togo, Tanzania, Zambia, Cameroon, Malawi, and Nigeria.[3]