GENEVA (AP) -- Following an impassioned appeal from Africa, the World Trade Organization on Saturday sealed a deal to allow poor countries to import cheap copies of patented drugs for killer diseases like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

``All people of good will and good conscience will be very happy today with the decision that the WTO members have made,'' said Kenyan Ambassador Amina Chawahir Mohamed. ``It's especially good news for the people of Africa who desperately need access to affordable medicine.''

The United States has been trying to protect the interests of drug companies, which feared they could lose control of patent rights. U.S. concessions this week broke an eight-month deadlock on the issue.

The final breakthrough followed a meeting Friday during which representatives of many African countries pleaded with other diplomats to stop trying to win last-minute advantages for their own nations.

In a joint statement, they noted nearly 2.2 million Africans have died from AIDS and other killer diseases since the issue became deadlocked on Dec. 16.

``For us, the request by the African countries was a decisive factor. All of us couldn't fail to be touched by that,'' said Brazilian Ambassador Luis Felipe de Seixas Carrea.