Q&A with Ndinelego Landi Moses

Q: Describe your profession.

A: Many people have heard of doctors and nurses, but fewer know about environmental health professionals. Yet our work impacts everyday life in ways people often don't notice. Environmental health focuses on protecting people from hazards in their surroundings, including unsafe food, contaminated water, poor sanitation, harmful chemicals, and disease-causing organisms. Environmental health professionals identify, assess, and control these risks to ensure the places where people live, work, learn, and travel are safe and healthy. The field covers areas such as food safety, water quality, sanitation, waste management, communicable disease prevention, occupational health, and environmental protection. At its core, environmental health is about preventing illness and injury before they occur, creating healthier environments and safer communities.

Q: As a senior public health manager at Carnival Maritime, what does a typical day look like?

A: No two days are the same. Cruise ships are essentially floating cities, requiring constant vigilance and proactive risk management. Together with the rest of our public health team, I provide leadership and operational support across the fleet to maintain high health standards. My responsibilities include developing policies, guiding shipboard and shoreside teams on emerging risks, monitoring compliance, and guiding our public health officers.

Q: What aspect of your job do you find the most rewarding?

A: The most rewarding aspect of my role is its preventive impact. By identifying risks, implementing controls, and supporting our shipboard teams, we help prevent illness and ensure safe, successful voyages. Knowing that our work protects the health and wellbeing of both guests and crew provides a strong sense of purpose. I also value the complexity of the profession. Working within a highly regulated maritime environment requires continuous learning, collaboration, and problem-solving across areas such as food safety, water management, environmental hygiene, and communicable disease prevention. Equally rewarding is supporting and mentoring our onboard public health officers, whose expertise is essential to maintaining high public health standards. While much of our work happens behind the scenes, its impact is significant. By preventing risks before they become problems, we help create a safe and healthy environment where guests can enjoy their holidays with confidence and crew members can live and work safely.

Q: What is your professional background?

A: My environmental health qualification from NUST, combined with my early work as a port health practitioner in Namibia, built a strong technical foundation in the field. To prepare for an international career, I sought extra practical experiences to sharpen my adaptability. Since entering the maritime sector as a specialist and advancing to senior public health manager, I’ve learned that while education and early experience provide a starting point, true success comes from continuous learning and embracing new challenges.

Q: What are some misconceptions people have about environmental health professionals?

A: I think the biggest misconception is not a misunderstanding of the profession but a lack of awareness of what environmental health professionals do. Much of our work happens behind the scenes through inspections, compliance monitoring, risk assessments, health education, and public health programmes that help protect communities every day. It is a profession I am proud to be part of because it combines science, public service, leadership, and problem-solving to make a real difference in people's lives. As public health challenges continue to evolve through issues such as climate change, emerging diseases, and antimicrobial resistance, environmental health professionals will play an increasingly important role. For anyone considering a career in the field, it offers meaningful opportunities to protect health, solve complex problems, and help build safer, healthier, and more resilient communities.

Q: What are some of the biggest challenges and emerging trends that young professionals entering the industry should be aware of?

A: Public health is rapidly evolving in response to challenges such as climate change, emerging infectious diseases, and antimicrobial resistance. Future professionals will need to embrace technology, use data-driven approaches to identify and manage risks, and work collaboratively across sectors through a One Health approach. Success will depend on combining strong prevention principles with adaptability, curiosity, continuous learning, and effective cross-disciplinary problem-solving.

Q: What skills, personal qualities and qualifications do employers look for in someone pursuing a career in this field?

A: While an environmental or public health qualification provides crucial technical knowledge, candidates stand out through core skills such as critical thinking to solve complex problems, strong communication to collaborate across diverse teams, self-drive to keep learning, and adaptability to stay calm and maintain high standards under pressure.

Q: Advice?

A: My best advice is to let passion lead your work and look beyond the classroom. While your degree provides a foundation, practical experience through internships, volunteering, or research builds adaptability and exposes you to the vast scope of public health. Remember that environmental health is remarkably versatile, and 'the world is your oyster'. Don't limit yourself to familiar paths. Be curious, embrace new industries or countries, and recognise that your skills can make a meaningful impact anywhere globally.

Q: If there is one message you would like every young person considering a career in environmental public health to take away, what would it be?

A: If there is one message I want every young person to take away, it is that environmental health offers far more opportunities than most realise. It is a diverse, evolving field that can take you into almost any sector – and anywhere in the world. Stay curious, never stop learning, and be open to unexpected paths. You might be surprised where this profession can take you.

*The answers were edited for length.