A SAFE space - this is what ProStar Youth Centres are meant to be.

A place where young people can meet and socialise with peers and develop skills they need to deal with the pains of growing up, including pressures that might put them at risk of HIV infection and violence.

With this in mind, Unicef worked with the Kedah Health Department four years ago to introduce this concept in Pendang.

Kedah was selected for two reasons, says Unicef Malaysia representative Youssouf Oomar.

HIV infection rates in the state were amongst the country's highest, mainly through injecting drug use and Unicef recognised the leadership of then Pendang Medical Officer, Dr Hayati Radzi, who was committed to championing the concept.
The centres are run by young people who've been trained under the ProStar programme. These peer educators help meet the needs of in-school and out-of-schools youth through counselling and education services.

The basic idea is to facilitate services that equip youths at risk with proper information and tools to make informed decisions about their health and reduce their vulnerability to HIV infection.

The young people identify facilities the centres should have.

After the Pendang centre was launched, the Indian Ocean tsunami struck, leaving thousands homeless, a large number in Kedah.

Unicef and the Kedah Health Department were concerned about the psychosocial impact of the disaster on young lives.

"We were worried the youths would resort to drugs to cope with the trauma.

"In view of the potential threat of post-trauma stress disorder, the two agencies expanded the centre concept to six more districts and a women's programme in Sungai Petani."

In 2007, Unicef supported a workshop for Kedah and Perlis religious leaders to help them better understand HIV.

A high youth membership and the choice of the centres as the preferred hangout is a measure of the programme's initial success, says Youssouf.

"We are also happy that the Health Ministry has seen the initial benefits and is now in the process of scaling it up nationwide."

Unicef support for the centres in Kedah and Perlis is expected to continue for another one to two years depending on programme outcomes.

Currently it is funded by a RM250,000 Manchester United Football Club grant made in 2006 through Unicef United Kingdom.

While "safe spaces" is not a new concept, the project in Malaysia is unique because the country is so strongly influenced by religion and culture, says Youssouf.