Photo Flash: Cast of FELA! and More Attend the 2014 Malaria No More Gala

Over 300 distinguished guests from the worlds of business, culture, media and philanthropy came together last night for an inspiring awards dinner benefitting Malaria No More. The global nonprofit organization honored Alere Inc. (NYSE: ALR) and Al Jazeera America for their commitments to the fight against malaria. The event raised $1.47 million. The event featured dinner and entertainment from the Afro-beat band and dancers from the Tony award-winning Broadway Show FELA!, Chop and Quench. The global nonprofit organization dedicated to ending malaria deaths honored Alere with the Corporate Citizenship Award and Al Jazeera America with the Media Leader. Scroll down for photos!

Guests stepped into an atmosphere reminiscent of 1970's night life across Africa and were transported through every detail including the vibrant colors of the décor, the sounds of the drums, and afro-beat music and overall energy of the evening. Guests enjoyed two brightly colored African-inspired photo booth experiences, including a replica of an old-school barbershop, to get into the spirit of the evening during cocktail hour.

CEO of Malaria No More, Martin Edlund shared photos of his young daughter dressed for Halloween as the most dangerous creature on earth -- the mosquito. Guest danced the evening away with band and dancers from the Tony award-winning Broadway Show FELA!, Chop and Quench. Dancers weaved in and out of the African inspired Afro-beat cabaret setting, getting guests on their feet and dancing to the music. Guests took home bags exclusively hand-made for the Malaria No More 2014 gala by local seamstresses in Cameroon. Each bag tag detailed the seamstress' name, village and inspirations.

Alere received the Corporate Citizenship Award for revolutionizing the way we find and fight malaria by adding a new tool, the rapid diagnostic test, to the world's arsenal of malaria resources, and for developing the next generation of diagnostics to help us eradicate malaria once and for all.

Al Jazeera America was presented the Media Leader Award for raising awareness about malaria through its outstanding journalism in the U.S. and around the world and commitment to covering the planet's most pressing global health issues.

"It's a privilege to be honored by Malaria No More tonight," Ehab Al Shihabi, CEO of Al Jazeera America said while accepting the Media Leader Award on stage. "My colleagues at Al Jazeera have worked hard to make sure that malaria stays in the spotlight and that audiences remain informed about the fight against this treatable and preventable disease. We're proud to be able to do our part and to be recognized, but we know it's an ongoing battle and there is much work to be done."

Malaria No More was founded by Peter Chernin and Ray Chambers at the White House Summit on Malaria in 2006. A founding member - and now CEO of the organization - Martin Edlund spoke last night about the misconceptions of the deadliest animals on earth, noting a survey in which participants ranked snakes, alligators, sharks and bears as the most dangerous. Though it may not look fearsome, Edlund noted, the mosquito is in fact the biggest killer of people on the planet due mainly to malaria - a disease that threatens nearly half the globe.

Edlund also shared some promising developments in the malaria fight. "We're making historic progress against this disease," he said. "Since the last benefit, we announced a milestone in the malaria fight - a 54 percent decline since 2000 in the rate of child deaths in Africa from malaria. But with a name like Malaria No More, you can't stop there."

Accepting the award on behalf of Alere, CEO Namal Nawana noted "Alere is committed to working with partners like Malaria No More to totally defeat malaria. Our part in this important initiative is the rapid diagnostic test, and it's our goal to create access. So in this latest partnership, we're really pleased to give two million of the rapid diagnostic tests to support Malaria No More. A million have already been delivered to Zambia, another 800,000 will go to Nigeria, and 200,000 to Chad." Alere is the exclusive diagnostic partner for Malaria No More's Power of One (Po1) campaign, which delivers malaria tests and treatments.

Additionally, representatives from Malaria No More's exclusive treatment partner for the Po1 campaign, Novartis, were also in attendance. Dr. Linus Igwemezie, head of the Novartis Malaria Initiative, spoke about innovations in next generation drugs. Malaria No More and Novartis also celebrated the major milestone of announcing funding secured to provide three million life-saving malaria treatments in advance of Po1's three-year, end of 2015 campaign goal.

Cast members and musicians from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Fela! and top Nigerian musician, Bez, entertained the audience and celebrated the African roots of Malaria No More through music, dance and a cabaret-inspired performance. Ray Chambers, co-founder of Malaria No More; John Seigenthaler, Al Jazeera America news anchor; and Broadway actress and dancer Daphne Rubin-Vega were amongst the guests in attendance.

Photo Credit: Neilson Barnard Getty Images for Malaria No More