The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union and the Linda Ugatuzi Civil Society group now want the government to return health services in the counties back to the National government.

The unions say devolution has weakened health care delivery across the country in the last ten years, adding that county governments lack the resources and capability to handle the health docket.

“The civil society, Linda Ugatuzi and PHM together with associations and Unions are going to embark on making the public understand why they need a doctor, a nurse and drugs in those facilities,” KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah said in a press briefing on Thursday.

“We need to have an objective direction that even the governors understand that they cannot run health care anymore, and we need health service commission for it.”

The medics and a number of civil societies have now embarked on a campaign to collect 7 million signatures to amend the constitution in their push for the establishment of the Health Services Commission.

"Take back health care to the national government, unless counties meet the minimum conditions that are required. Counties don't have the resources to pay doctors... I urge you Kenyans to also help us. To collect the signatures required to amend the constitution,” Prof Fred Odolla of the Linda Ugatuzi added.

In an earlier statement on Thursday, Atellah referred to the initial six pillars of an effective health system according to the World Health Organization (WHO), saying the devolved government had failed to effectively implement each of them

“In the Kenyan Public Health Sector, a critical misreading and misinterpretation of Schedule 4 part 2 (2) of the Schedules to the Constitution of Kenya 2010 has ushered in immense problems in the sector,” read the statement.

"10 years on, it is time for Kenyans to gather around and retrace where the Nation lost its way on the matter of the provision of Public Health Services to Kenyans.”

He added: “The KMPDU wishes to urge the Nation and her people to get back to the basics and we shall kick off the discourse with a brief look at how Kenya is doing in each of the World Health Organization’s six pillars of an effective health system.”