Anne Geddes Joins United Nations’ Every Woman Every Child Effort Increasing her Philanthropic Commitments to Help Women and Children

One of the world’s most respected photographers, Anne Geddes has made a commitment to the United Nations’ Every Woman Every Child effort to raise awareness about the need to improve the health of women and children in the developing world. Building on her current philanthropic activities and the charitable work of the Geddes Philanthropic Trust, Anne now will lend her voice and in select instances, her iconic imagery, to support Every Woman Every Child.

“Every ninety seconds around the world, a woman dies either in pregnancy or in childbirth,” said Anne Geddes. “And in ninety percent of these cases, the causes are preventable.”

Every Woman Every Child is a continuing, ambitious global endeavor to save the lives of millions of women and children. Anne has joined the Every Woman Every Child partners — governments, international organizations, the business community, civil society and nongovernmental organizations (CSOs and NGOs), philanthropists, health care professionals, and academic and research institutions — in a pledge to advocate for action to reduce the preventable deaths of women and children. Every Woman Every Child is a collective effort to save the lives of millions of women and children around the world, through improving their access to essential services such as life-saving vaccines, safe delivery by skilled health workers, and family planning.

“With her commitment to support the Every Woman Every Child effort, photographer Anne Geddes brings her wonderful artistic talent to the cause of women’s and children’s health,” said United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. “She is now among the diverse partners from business, philanthropy and the arts who are playing increasingly important roles in raising awareness, saving lives and advancing UN objectives throughout the world.”

Anne’s contributions and outreach on behalf of Every Woman Every Child will be ongoing. She recently announced her participation in the Million Moms Challenge “Imagine Me & You” photo contest, supported in part by the United Nations Foundation, in a video aired on ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America.”

Anne Geddes partners with Million Moms Challenge and “Imagine Me & You” contest to support healthier mothers and babies worldwide

In collaboration with the Million Moms Challenge, ABC News, the United Nations Foundation, and Disney Baby, Anne Geddes helped launch “Imagine Me & You”, a photo contest to win a never-before-offered photo session in her Sydney studio, including a free trip for two adults, plus baby, to Australia.

“I’ve agreed to do a very special portrait sitting, for free. Why? Because I want to get your attention,” said Anne.

As a partner in the Every Woman Every Child effort, Anne has increased her commitment to the welfare of babies around the world, and engaged on a deeper level to help raise awareness about the need to improve the health of women and children in the developing world.

“To illustrate the importance of love and family in the earliest stages of life is a message that I stand behind and feel privileged to experience every day,” said Anne. “That is why I am proud to be a part of the Million Moms Challenge “Imagine Me & You” contest.”

Realizing that a healthier tomorrow for our world starts with healthy moms and babies today, the Million Moms Challenge engages millions of Americans with millions of moms in developing countries around issues that affect pregnancy, childbirth and children’s health.

The “Imagine Me & You” contest is designed to celebrate the universal dream that mothers everywhere have for healthy, happy babies who will grow to reach their full potential. To enter the contest, expectant moms in their third trimester uploaded a picture on www.Facebook.com/millionmomschallenge of their “baby bump,” along with an original, creative message written on their bellies capturing their wishes and dreams for life with their little one.

America is voting on the images from December 6th to December 15th. The three finalists will be announced on ABC News December 16th. Anne Geddes will personally select the grand-prize winner in January, and will shoot a rare private portrait of the winning mom and newborn in her Sydney, Australia, studio.

Watch Anne announce her Million Moms Challenge “Imagine Me & You” free photo session; follow her experience @annegeddestweet on Twitter and use the hashtag #AMillionMoms.

###About Anne Geddes
One of the world’s most respected photographers, Anne Geddes creates images that are iconic, multi-award winning, internationally acclaimed, and beloved. Like no photographer before, her imagery singularly captures the beauty, purity, vulnerability, and preciousness of children, embodying her deeply held belief that each and every child must be protected, nurtured, and loved. Throughout her career Anne Geddes has continued to give back. In 1992, Anne with her husband, Kel, founded The Geddes Philanthropic Trust to raise funds and awareness worldwide for the prevention of child abuse and neglect. In 2011, Anne was proud to announce her partnership with the United Nation’s Every Woman Every Child effort, which she hopes will continue to help make the health and welfare of pregnant women, and newborn children, a global priority. Anne’s work has been published in 83 countries and her books have sold more than 18 million copies worldwide. Her English-language my Pregnancy: A Woman’s Story™ digital magazine will launch worldwide in late 2011, and the weekly television series “my Pregnancy: A Woman’s Story™ debuted in Australia in October. Her book Beginnings received Gold in the 2011 Independent Publishers Book Awards, won both the photography and e-book non-fiction categories in the USA Best Books 2011 Awards, and was one of the top bestselling photography books of the year. Anne Geddes’ blog, Facebook and Twitter pages bring her fans into her studio and life. For more information, please visit www.AnneGeddes.com.

About Every Woman Every Child
Launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Summit in September 2010, Every Woman Every Child aims to save the lives of 16 million women and children by 2015. It is an unprecedented global effort that mobilizes and intensifies international and national action by governments, multilaterals, the private sector and civil society to address the major health challenges facing women and children around the world. The effort puts into action the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, which presents a roadmap on how to enhance financing, strengthen policy and improve service on the ground for the most vulnerable women and children. For more information please visit www.everywomaneverychild.org