. while the strong workers in israel are similar in output and skills to the strong workers in other countries, the weaker workers in israel are far weaker than their peers abroad. so how can we strengthen the “ weaker ” workers and raise the output per worker in israel? there is a direct — and causal — connection between a labor force ’ s quality of education and productivity, with an emphasis on the importance of basic cognitive skills that enable a change in profession during one ’ s lifetime. eric hanushek of stanford university shows this in a series of studies he conducted in recent years. it is important to state that the gaps in the quality of education in israel exist in almost all age groups and education groups, and are not the purview of a certain segment of israeli society. therefore, the treatment of the problem must encompass all levels of education, and begin in preschool. in his research, nobel prize winner james heckman found how important the preschool starting point is for economic success during life, particularly for children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. it is therefore important that daycare centers for children from weaker backgrounds begin the educational process at very young ages. at the same time, it is important that subsidies for the cost of daycare for weaker population groups be adjusted to increase the incentives to work for both parents. such steps lead to a double benefit. they can materially contribute to future growth, and can contribute to reducing gaps and increase equality of opportunity. as economists, we avoid dealing with pedagogical issues. we focus on incentives that will help improvement in an area, and recommend adjusting the payment structure for teachers to the urgent needs of the system : improvement payment for those with training in subjects where there is a lag in achievements and a lack of teachers ( mathematics, sciences, and english ), and improving salaries for teachers to teach in schools that cater to students with weaker backgrounds. this is all on condition that there are continuous evaluations of the success of the teachers and of the schools in creating scholastic, educational, and social improvements. in addition to the investment required at young ages, there are also measures that are necessary for the older population. in israel, too little is invested in developing human capital at older ages through professional training programs. the increasing flexibility of the labor market, and the extension of a person ’ s working life as life expectancy and the effective retirement age increase require significant reforms in this area, both in improving the output of technological colleges, and in adapting the content

the past year, from n19. 4 trillion to n23. 5 trillion. f ) created a n50 billion target credit facility for affected households and small and medium enterprises through the nirsal microfinance bank, against which n363. 5 billion has been disbursed to over 767, 000 nigerian households and micro businesses. g ) mobilized key stakeholders in the nigerian economy, under the private sector coalition against covid - 19 ( cacovid ) team that raised n39. 646 to support the fight against the scourge. the funds were used to support three ( 3 ) key priority areas : ( i ) development of 39 fully equipped isolation centres including intensive care units ( icus ) and molecular testing labs and procurement of medical equipment such as pcr test kits across the country ; ( ii ) provision of palliatives in the form of essential food items to 1. 7 million households, an equivalent of 8 million nigerians ; and ( iii ) improving awareness in rural awareness on the covid - 19 virus and capacity building for community health workers. h ) created a n1 trillion facility in loans to boost local manufacturing and production across critical sectors ; of which 53 major manufacturing projects, 21 agriculture related projects and 13 service projects are being funded from this facility. i ) creation of a ngn100 billion intervention fund for pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners to expand and strengthen the capacity of our healthcare institutions. we have increased this fund to n200 billion to accommodate more players in the healthcare sector, such as phytomedicine practitioners and manufacturers of medical devices and vaccines. our primary focus is to create a hub where medical officers can have access to diagnostic equipment to carry out quality medical services at an affordable price for nigerians. ▪ so far, over n107. 7 billion has been released to support 114 healthcare projects, including six ( 6 ) greenfield ( new ) and 108 are expansionary ( brownfield ). the projects financed included cancer treatment centres, medical diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, dental services, eye clinics, and other healthcare service providers. we are happy to inform you that the intervention programs have contributed to the increased bed space in our hospitals, and improved healthcare productivity as evident in the increased number of successfully treated covid 19 patients. 26. these developmental initiatives combined with our monetary and financial policies have helped to support the recovery of our economy and in re - aligning general macroeconomic conditions. the journey so far and our scorecard 27