capital. the examples will illustrate that without the implementation of such a strategic plan, not only will we not move forward toward closing the gaps vis - a - vis the other advanced economies, the gaps vis - a - vis the countries at the forefront will widen. it is important to state at this point that in recent years, there has been significant progress in the government ’ s strategic planning led by the national economic council. a deputy directors - general forum for planning and strategy has been established, and is preparing a plan for the government ’ s work ; seven areas in which the government has chosen to focus have been identified ; interministerial cooperation has been intensified ; and detailed targets have been set in a number of areas, and work has begun toward achieving them. however, the challenges are large, and the way toward formulating a work plan, and more importantly toward implementing such a plan, remains long. in the area of healthcare and long - term care, in view of the trend of aging population, we can estimate that the volume of needs for medical and long - term care services will increase sharply, and we must already prepare for this now. while the general population is expected to increase by 23 percent, the number of elderly citizens is expected to increase by more than double that – 52 percent. as a direct result, the demand for various healthcare services bis central bankers ’ speeches will also increase by about 60 – 70 percent, all while the overcrowding in the hospitals is already very high. in addition, about half of the physicians in the system are aged 55 or more – the highest figure in the western world – and the rate of those completing medical and nursing school is lower than in other countries, even after the increase in recent years. as such, the number of physicians per capita is expected to decline. the israeli healthcare system is considered very high - quality by international comparison. however, given the overcrowding in the hospitals, the long wait for various procedures, and the low rate of doctors and nurses per capita, the level budgeting for the healthcare system must be adjusted to the tasks imposed on it, a significant increase in the physical infrastructure and human capital in the system, and streamlining the long - term care system, with particular attention to improving systemic coordination. these can be advanced only through a multi - year plan based on a detailed analysis of future needs. only the formulation and implementation of such a program will be able to maintain and improve the high - quality israeli healthcare

nils bernstein : recent economic and financial developments in denmark speech by mr nils bernstein, governor of the national bank of denmark, at the annual meeting of the association of danish mortgage banks, copenhagen, 24 april 2008. * * * thank you for the invitation to speak here today. at last year's meeting of the association of danish mortgage banks i said the following about the economic situation in the usa : " there is no sign either that the problems faced by companies specialising in mortgage loans to less creditworthy households will spread to other areas of the financial markets ". i was not the only person to hold that view. i have been reminded that economic predictions should always be taken with a grain of salt. it is no exaggeration to say that things have developed somewhat contrary to the predictions. the economic forecasts for the usa and europe have gradually been adjusted downwards over the last year or so. what started as problems for companies specialising in subprime mortgages has spread to other parts of the financial sector – also outside the usa – and is now dampening output and employment. this again has a negative impact on financial enterprises. the current assessment is that the usa is heading for a recession that will not subside until the 2nd half of 2008 at the earliest. then the situation – at best – will only slowly improve. it looks as if europe will avoid actual recession, but must be prepared for modest growth rates of between 1 and 2 per cent in the coming years. this development has taken most people by surprise, although the boom in the usa had peaked before the subprime crisis. it is positive that developing countries and emerging market economies have so far steered clear of the economic downturn. this has mitigated the slowdown in the global economy. at the same time, inflation has risen worldwide, driven by increasing energy and food prices. the price increases limit the scope for further expansion of economic policy. there is a risk that inflation expectations will be pushed upwards, triggering a wage and price spiral. needless to say, the impact of higher food prices is most severe in the poor countries, and the issue is rapidly climbing to the top of the international agenda. today, it is estimated that losses in the financial sector could be as high as 1, 000 billion dollars, or three times denmark's domestic product – without comparison, i should add. both financial enterprises and others have suffered losses, primarily in the usa, but also in europe. the greatest losses have been observed in