Rural households at risk of malaria did not own sufficient insecticide treated nets at Dabat HDSS site: evidence from a cross sectional re-census

Background Malaria is the leading cause of disease burden across the world, especially in African countries. Ethiopia has designed a five year (2011–2015) plan to cover 100% of the households in malarious areas with one insecticide treated net (ITN) for every two persons, and to raise consistent ITN utilization to at least 80%. However, evidence on ownership of ITN among malarious rural households in northwest Ethiopia is quite limited. Hence, the present study aimed at assessing ownership of ITN and associated factors among rural households at risk of malaria at Dabat Health and Demographic Surveillance System site, northwest Ethiopia. Methods A cross sectional re-census was carried out in Dabat Health and Demographic Surveillance System site during peak malaria seasons from October to December, 2014. Data for 15,088 households at Dabat Health and Demographic Surveillance System site were used for the analysis. Descriptive measures and binary logistic regression were carried out. Results Among those who owned at least one ITN, 53.4% were living at an altitude >2500 m above sea level. However, out of households living at an altitude