MFWA launches fund to defend Ghanaian

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has created a Legal Support Fund with approximately GHS 544,000. It is a direct response to the increasing use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) against journalists and media organizations in the country.

The fund will provide legal assistance to journalists and media outlets confronting litigation, judicial harassment, and other legal threats stemming from their legitimate professional work. According to the MFWA's statement, the initiative addresses growing concerns about legal tactics designed to silence critical reporting.

Program Context and Goals

The fund is established under the African Media Integrity and Resilience Programme (AMIRP), which is funded by the European Union and implemented in Ethiopia, Ghana, and the Central African Republic. The program's overarching aim is to strengthen public-interest media practitioners' capacity to provide ethical, fact-based information that contributes to information integrity.

In Ghana, the MFWA implements AMIRP in collaboration with DW Akademie Ghana through International Media Support (IMS). This new fund builds upon the MFWA's nearly three decades of work promoting freedom of expression, press freedom, and journalist safety across West Africa.

Complementing Existing Support Networks

The Legal Support Fund is designed to complement the MFWA's existing interventions. One key intervention is the West Africa Network of Activists and Media Defence Lawyers (WANAMDEL), a regional network of lawyers providing legal support to journalists and activists facing rights violations.

The new fund creates a dedicated mechanism for eligible Ghanaian journalists to access legal assistance. To apply, journalists must submit an application form accompanied by supporting documentation. Required documents can include court processes, police documents, legal notices, correspondence, and relevant publications.

Broader AMIRP Capacity-Building Initiatives

Beyond the legal fund, the AMIRP intervention includes several other capacity-building activities. Five early-career female journalists are receiving support through a 12-month fellowship to strengthen their public-interest journalism skills. This fellowship combines intensive training, professional mentorship, and a newsroom attachment with the MFWA's public interest journalism outlet, The Fourth Estate.

Starting September 14, 2026, sixty journalists, editors, and media managers from across Ghana will participate in training workshops. These workshops aim to strengthen their knowledge of Ghana's constitutional, legal, and regulatory frameworks governing journalism. Participants will also learn about relevant African and international human rights standards on freedom of expression and journalist safety.

The training will capacitate media professionals to identify and manage legal risks, respond to violations, and understand the mechanisms available for seeking redress at national, regional, and international levels.

Research on Media Landscape and Education

The MFWA will also produce a policy research study assessing gaps in existing journalism and media training curricula in Ghana. The goal is to improve the quality of media and journalism education in the country.

Additional research studies will examine key issues affecting the state of Ghana's media. These studies will cover media ownership patterns and their 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.