A contingent of 19 medical personnel from the Rwanda Defence Force on Saturday, October 9 joined their counterparts from East African Community (EAC) countries to kick off the EAC Armed Forces Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) Week in which they provided treatment to scores of patients in Kenya.

The EAC Armed Forces’ CIMIC week is an annual routine exercise meant to enhance regional integration on defence matters by giving service to community and is held under the EAC Protocol on Cooperation in Defence Affairs whose four pillars include military training, joint operations, technical cooperation, visits and exchange of information.

It is running from October 9 to 13, and under it, medical care activities are being carried out in different regions of Kenya including Machakos, Kajiado and Nairobi, with an aim of enhancing cooperation in civil military affairs between EAC Defence Forces.

Led by Lt Col Vincent Mugisha, the Chief of Civil Military Relations (J9), the RDF contingent that comprises specialized medics are conducting medical outreach services in Machakos county -Muumandu Health Center, 85 kilometres from Nairobi.

They are providing free treatment in pediatrics, gynecology, internal medicine, general medicine, ophthalmology and dental. The RDF medical contingent have so far attended to 90 patients on the first day of the exercise.

Winny Chemutai Too, who is in charge of Muumandu Health Center Facility said:

"People usually associate the military with guns, and do not often see them offering humanitarian services. This is therefore a very important gesture of good civil military relations.”

This is the 3rd EAC Armed Forces CIMIC Week. The previous CIMIC services were held in Uganda and Rwanda respectively in 2018 and 2019.

The five-day event will involve military medics from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda conducting free Medical Camps at Kenyan health facilities: Muumandu Level 3 hospital, Matuu Level 4 hospital, Ewaso Kedong Level 3 hospital, Mathare North dispensary, Babadogo dispensary and Kahawa West dispensary.