The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has established a Legal Support Fund with an allocation of approximately GHS 544,000. The Fund responds to growing concerns about the use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and will provide legal assistance to journalists in Ghana who face litigation, judicial harassment and other legal threats arising from their legitimate professional work.
The Fund is being established under the African Media Integrity and Resilience Programme: Ethiopia, Ghana and Central African Republic (AMIRP). The overall goal of the programme is to contribute to independent and viable media ecosystems and strengthen the capacity of public-interest media practitioners to provide ethical and fact-based information that contributes to information integrity in the implementing countries. The programme is implemented in Ghana by the MFWA in collaboration with DW Akademie Ghana through International Media Support (IMS) and funded by the European Union (EU).
The establishment of the Fund builds on the MFWA’s longstanding work to promote freedom of expression, media freedom and the safety of journalists and activists across West Africa. For close to three decades (since 1997), MFWA has combined monitoring and reporting of press freedom violations with advocacy, capacity building and direct interventions to protect journalists and combat impunity for attacks against them.
These interventions have included the establishment of the West Africa Network of Activists and Media Defence Lawyers (WANAMDEL), a regional network of lawyers established to provide legal support to journalists and activists facing legal harassment and other rights violations. The Legal Support Fund complements these interventions by providing a dedicated mechanism through which eligible journalists in Ghana can access legal assistance when confronted with legal threats arising from their professional work.
A constituted Committee shall conduct an assessment and determine whether assistance should be approved, partially approved or declined.
Eligible applicants can access the application form here. All applications should be accompanied by supporting documentation including relevant court processes, police documents, legal notices, correspondence, publications and any other material necessary to establish eligibility.
For further information, contact us via email [email protected] or telephone: +233 302 555327 | +233 302 955213.
Other Project Activities
The AMIRP will also support five early-career female journalists through a 12-month fellowship combining intensive training, professional mentorship and newsroom attachment with The Fourth Estate to strengthen their skills and experience in public-interest journalism.
Beginning September 14, 2026, sixty (60) journalists, editors and media managers from across Ghana will participate in two five-day residential training workshops. Participants will be organised into two cohorts of 30, a Northern Cohort and a Southern Cohort.
The training will strengthen participants’ understanding of Ghana’s constitutional, legal and regulatory frameworks governing journalism, as well as relevant African and international human rights standards on freedom of expression and the safety of journalists. It will also strengthen their capacity to identify and manage legal risks, respond to violations and understand the national, regional and international mechanisms available for seeking redress.
As part of efforts to improve the quality and relevance of media and journalism education in Ghana, a commissioned policy research study will assess gaps in existing journalism and media training curricula in Ghana. The findings of the validated research report will be disseminated at a national stakeholder dialogue to build support for recommended reforms. This will be complemented by targeted research uptake and dissemination visits to journalism and media training institutions to promote consideration and adoption of the proposed reforms.
To add to the above, four (4) research studies will be commissioned as part of the project to examine key issues affecting the state of the media in Ghana. These studies will cut across the following themes: Media ownership patterns and implications for pluralism and independence; Professional capacity and standards; Journalist safety and press freedom; and Policy and legislative gaps in Ghana’s media governance framework. Each study will be followed by a stakeholder dialogue to present the evidence, discuss its implications and identify practical responses.
Eligibility and Exclusions
The Fund is intended to support practising journalists and media practitioners whose legal challenges arise directly from legitimate professional journalistic work. Eligible applicants include reporters, editors, producers, broadcasters, freelance journalists, community media practitioners, online journalists, investigative journalists, photojournalists and videographers engaged in the production or dissemination of news and information in the public interest.
Preference shall be given to cases involving investigative journalism, accountability reporting, corruption, elections, governance, human rights, environmental reporting and other matters of significant public interest.
The Fund shall not provide assistance for private commercial disputes, family or matrimonial matters, employment disputes unrelated to media freedom, political campaign activities, criminal offences unrelated to journalism, hate speech, incitement to violence, extortion, fabrication of news or deliberate dissemination of false information.
Support shall also not be provided where an applicant has knowingly acted outside recognised ethical standards of journalism or where the legal matter arises primarily from personal conduct unrelated to professional journalistic activities.
Types of Legal Support
- The Legal Support Fund may finance legal consultation, legal representation, emergency legal intervention, alternative dispute resolution and appeals where these arise from eligible cases.
- Legal consultation may include advice provided before publication of sensitive investigative reports or immediately following receipt of legal threats.
- Legal representation may include appearances before courts, tribunals, commissions or other competent authorities.
- Emergency assistance may be provided where a journalist has been arrested, detained or subjected to unlawful search or seizure while undertaking legitimate professional duties.
- The Fund may also support mediation, negotiated settlements and other lawful mechanisms capable of resolving disputes without prolonged litigation where these are considered appropriate by the assigned legal practitioner.
Application and Assessment Process
- All applications shall be accompanied by supporting documentation including relevant court processes, police documents, legal notices, correspondence, publications and any other material necessary to establish eligibility.
- The Legal Support Committee shall review the assessment and determine whether assistance should be approved, partially approved or declined.
