about these three little dots...
Holding the Line... is an independent documentary photography project elevating the voices of people working on the frontline of the response to HIV across Africa. The project captures compelling visual narratives of individuals and communities across Africa who refuse to retreat, even as essential HIV funding rapidly declines. Resulting stories and photos will be shared widely and freely to amplify frontline voices and bolster the advocacy efforts of global HIV organizations.
an alarming reality...
The global HIV response faces significant funding gaps and challenges, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where halted or diminished HIV programs threaten decades of progress.
- In January 2025, abrupt U.S. government cuts to global HIV funding through PEPFAR disrupted HIV services, severely threatening two decades of progress against the epidemic.
- An estimated 220,000 people per day, including 7,000 children, have experienced treatment interruptions, risking rapid rises in HIV transmission and AIDS-related mortality.
- Thousands of healthcare workers lost their jobs, and 36% of HIV-related organizations across 27 surveyed countries ceased operations within weeks.
Learn more about the immediate human impact of US funding cuts for HIV: amfAR report (February 2025); analysis published in the Lancet (April 2025)
who's holding the line...?
Explore and support the work of local organizations holding the line in the response to HIV across Africa.
Explorethe plan…
Storytelling through documentary photography – offering a powerful and humanizing approach to amplify the voices of local communities and frontline health workers to advocate for sustained global attention and funding.
Fieldwork took place between June and September 2025, including interviews with 100+ individuals and 27 local organizations across Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda.
This blog serves as a central repository for these stories, also to be amplified across other social media and web channels. Contact me (below) to receive stories and photos to share in your own advocacy.
explore the series...
Each collection reveals a different angle of the same story: how people endure, connect, and keep the fight alive.
Illustrative photography of the Holding the Line blog series. Photos by Ben Eveslage (various dates)
Holding the Line... is told through an interconnected series of stories, photographs, and reflections. Each offer a different way of seeing the people and places that make up the fight against HIV. Explore these series and subscribe to receive future posts.
- Close-up: Meet the people on the frontlines of care, advocacy, and community.
- Depth: Dive inside the local organizations leading the response to HIV.
- Big picture: Panoramic views of the global AIDS‐response, linking people to science, systems, and politics.
- Selfie: Behind-the-scenes and personal commentary (paid subscribers only)
- Moments: Fleeting snapshots that linger — unfiltered, spontaneous, and out-of-context.
- Hands: Previews of the people and themes shaping the fight against HIV.
Contact
Click the "contact" button below to learn more, ask a question, or explore collaboration. Messages submitted on the contact form are sent directly to Ben's personal email.
Ben Eveslage is the project lead for "Holding the Line..."
Learn more about Ben's background, the project's origin story, and how to contribute to the storytelling on GoFundMe.
Let's talk! Here are some ideas...
- "Can I use some of your photos for an advocacy project, publication, event...?"
- "Can I share your stories on my platform, publication, channel...?"
- "How can I help ? I feel like I could contribute ______ ?"
- "How can I make a donation to one of the organizations / individuals featured on "holding the line..."?"
- "I represent brand or company, we'd be interested to collaborate with "Holding the Line" or sponsor your work. Can we talk?"