This paper draws on the work in Lesotho and Namibia of tracking progress towards cutting poverty in half by 2015, which is the key poverty target of the Millennium Development Goals. The paper serves at least two purposes. Firstly, it outlines the steps and methodological considerations involved in selecting appropriate national indicators and targets for measuring income poverty using household surveys and poverty lines based on observed consumption patterns. Secondly, it highlights some practical lessons and challenges for policy makers in southern Africa when they attempt to access and analyse poverty data under less than ideal circumstances.