Buakai Bindi Hindowa is the Deputy Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs in the government of the Republic of Sierra Leone. He is one of the longest-serving ministers, having been appointed in May 2021. Together with the substantive minister, he advises Sierra Leone’s government on issues relating to gender and children, and initiates policy guidelines and leads the process of gender equality and mainstreaming at the national level.

Specifically, he supervises the National Commission for Children and works with other institutions, agencies, and non-governmental organisations working on various child protection issues. He also oversees the Children’s Directorate at the Ministry, ensuring children’s welfare, including adoption and child support, is protected. He was critical in enacting the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and the Child Rights Act by engaging stakeholders, including local and international partners, to get this landmark achievement.

Hon. Hindowa holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Politics and a Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) from the University of Sierra Leone and Njala University, respectively. Before becoming a minister, he was an accomplished administrator with a strong background in project planning and implementation, as well as very good research, organizational, planning, supervising, monitoring, and presentation skills. He has presented papers at international conferences, including a Paper on Sierra Leone’s Gender Act and Mainstreaming Policy at the COPP 22 Women in Climate Change Conference in Egypt, and a paper on Political Space for Women, organized by ECOWAS in Ghana.