German aid for refugee clinics may be in jeopardy

BERLIN (AP) -- A German diplomatic memo warns that a restructuring of aid policies could leave thousands of Somali refugees in a camp in Kenya without proper medical assistance.

Germany's GIZ aid agency currently runs six health centers in the sprawling Dadaab camp near the Somali border jointly with the U.N.'s refugee agency.

A memorandum from Germany's embassy in Nairobi, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, says a possible closure of those centers next year could mean that "about 150,000 refugees, among them thousands of malnourished children" under 5 years old, suddenly receive little or no medical assistance.

Germany's Foreign Ministry says funding for Dadaab remains unchanged in 2013, but it declined to comment on the future of the health centers.

Experts say UNHCR could seek a new partner to operate them.