Millennium Development Goal 1 focuses on the eradication of poverty and hunger by 2015. While progress towards achieving this goal is promising in many developing countries, it is estimated that 920 million people would still be living under the adjusted poverty threshold of US$1.25 per day. This study employed data from the Malawi 2010 Demographic and Health Survey to examine the relative ranking of women ( 23,020) across the wealth index scale by identifying the characteristics of women which influence their likelihood of belonging to “poor” or “rich” households. Results from the ordered probit model show that older women and those with some formal schooling were likely to fall within the higher categories of the wealth status index. Belonging to households headed by females was associated with lower categories of wealth status than those headed by males. We interpret these results in line with the current development strategies aimed at reducing poverty and hunger by 2015 and the need to identify and respond appropriately to the layers of socioeconomic vulnerability in Malawi. 1. Introduction Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 1 calls for global efforts to eradicate poverty and hunger by 2015. Specifically, MDG 1 targets three areas: (a) halve the proportion of people whose income is less than US$1 a day between 1990 and 2015, (b) achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people, and (c) halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger between 1990 and 2015. Although addressing this goal has been a challenge due to the economic setbacks of the 2008-09 economic downturn, the world is generally on track to meet this goal. For example, overall poverty rates fell from 46% in 1990 to 27% in 2005 in developing regions, and progress in many developing regions is promising. Nevertheless, it is estimated that in 2015, about 920 million people would still be living under the adjusted international poverty threshold of US$1.25 a day [1]. The need to eradicate poverty in the developing world cannot be overemphasized since, in broad terms, the level of poverty is a summary measure of individuals’ ability to access resources which may improve different aspects of their lives. Along these lines, majority of countries in the world collect data periodically through household surveys and other sources in order to assess the general living conditions of people. A number of developing countries such as Malawi are undertaking efforts to reduce poverty through sustained economic growth and infrastructure development
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