The Zambian Doctor Making Waves at Miss World Makes it to Top 40

For Dr Adah Mushibi, the journey to the Miss World Top 40 is about more than a crown.

The Zambian beauty queen is a medical professional, a volunteer at the University Teaching Hospital, a Chinese-language interpreter and a community advocate.

Now, she has added another achievement to that list: becoming the African winner of the Miss World Multimedia Award, securing Zambia a place in the Top 40 of the 2026 Miss World competition.

Mushibi was crowned Miss World Zambia in May, earning the opportunity to represent the country at the 73rd Miss World Festival in Vietnam, which is also marking the pageant's 75th anniversary.

But her background extends well beyond pageantry.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Medicine and volunteers at the University Teaching Hospital. She also works as a Chinese interpreter and speaks English, Mandarin, Nyanja and Bemba.

Her professional ambitions are equally rooted in healthcare. Mushibi hopes to become a surgeon and has spoken about advocating for more inclusive healthcare, particularly for people living with disabilities.

That commitment to service is also reflected in her work outside medicine.

Mushibi founded the Evans Jr Foundation in memory of her late brother. The foundation has been involved in initiatives supporting children and communities, including school visits, youth empowerment and practical projects around food security and environmental care.

In one initiative, Mushibi joined pupils at Ellensdale Primary School in a hands-on gardening session, teaching them about planting, food production and environmental care.

At Chongwe Primary School, she spent time with children as part of a programme connected to her late brother's legacy.

It is this combination of medicine, community service and communication that has shaped Mushibi's Miss World journey.

Her breakthrough came through the Multimedia Challenge, where contestants were assessed on their creativity, storytelling, content quality, consistency and ability to engage audiences.

Mushibi emerged as one of five African finalists alongside representatives from Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania and Uganda.

She ultimately won the continental award for Africa.

That victory was more than a personal accolade.

Miss World confirmed that the four continental Multimedia Award winners — Mushibi for Africa, together with winners from Europe, Asia and Oceania, and the Americas and Caribbean — automatically secured places in the Miss World Top 40.

For Zambia, the result continues a remarkable recent improvement at the competition.

Mushibi follows Faith Bwalya, who reached the Top 40 at Miss World 2025 and won the Head-to-Head Challenge, giving Zambia its strongest result in the competition at the time.

Mushibi has therefore ensured that Zambia returns to the Top 40 for a second consecutive year.

But her achievement also says something about the changing nature of international pageantry.

The Miss World competition is no longer judged only on appearance and performance on stage. Challenges such as Multimedia and Beauty With a Purpose place increasing emphasis on communication, advocacy, social impact and the ability of contestants to connect with audiences.

For Mushibi, those elements are closely connected to the life she was already building before she put on the Miss World Zambia crown.

She describes her personal motto as: “Always be your most authentic self, no matter what space you are in.”

Now, that authenticity has taken a Zambian doctor, volunteer and community advocate onto one of the world's biggest pageant stages — and into the Miss World Top 40.