United States Senator Barack Obama has reportedly made a connection with the people of his father's homeland, Kenya. On the 4th day of his visit there, the Illinois Democrat visited the Kibera "slum", home to some 600,000 people, one-fifth of which are estimated to be HIV-positive, according to HIV/AIDS prevention groups.

Kibera has one of the world's highest rates of HIV/AIDS infection in a concentrated area, and many of its inhabitants have no legal right to the property where they live. Coupled with the fact that the area enjoys virtually no government services, deprivation which includes access to safe water, there is a severe health crisis looming.

On Saturday, Sen. Obama and his wife also visited a health clinic at Kisumu to undergo HIV/AIDS testing, as a means of promoting the test among the Kenyan people. According to the BBC, "He told thousands of cheering admirers that he would tell Americans about their troubles and lobby for more help".

AFP reports Julius Odhiambo, a resident of Kibera, said "Obama is our own... It is a sign of great respect that he has come to visit us". The last two years have seen a policy shift in the US toward greater involvement in Africa, in the form of aid dollars and debt relief, though criticisms continue to accuse the Bush administration of under-reaction to desperate crises across the continent, including civil wars, genocide, the spread of HIV/AIDS and prescription drug costs for poor Africans.

Sen. Obama has become a recognized figure in Kenya, his father's homeland, and his autobiography has been adapted for the stage there. He is reportedly seen as a role model and as a symbol of responsible "African" leadership in politics, democracy and human rights. His promise to inform the American people and their government of the need to take action to help Africa develop and overcome prevailing crises has won widespread support among the Kenyans who have seen him speak.

Sen. Obama burst onto the American political scene when he gave a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, which roused the delegates and appeared taylor-made for a presidential run. He subsequently won the Senate race, becoming the only African-American member of the Senate, and is now awash with buzz of a 2008 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. [s]

• BBC: "Obama draws crowds on slum tour"