Can extreme poverty be eliminated in the next 20 years? Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono may well be pondering this question as he and other heads of state gather in New York for the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Perhaps some would consider the question ill-timed given that much of the world remains mired in an economic slump. Yet eradicating poverty should be at the top of the General Assembly’s agenda — for two compelling reasons.

First, this is a crucial chance to build on the progress in reducing poverty over the past two decades. With the UN-led Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a galvanizing force, the number of people living below US$1.25 a day fell from some 43 percent of the world population in 1990 to about 22 percent in 2008. In Indonesia, the number of citizens living on less than $1.25 per day fell from some 100 million to about 40 million in this period.