GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Hectic last-ditch talks aimed at striking a landmark global agreement on handling future pandemics rolled into the final day on Friday with a deal still up in the air.

Two years of work on drafting an international accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response are coming to the crunch, with just hours left to find a consensus.

In December 2021, the raw pain of Covid-19 — which killed millions, shredded economies and crippled health systems — motivated countries to seek a binding framework of commitments aimed at preventing another such disaster.

However, big differences quickly emerged on how to go about it

— fractures which still had not been healed going into Friday.

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus voiced optimism that the talks would prove successful and conclude an agreement ready to be formally adopted at the annual gathering of WHO member countries, which runs from 27 May to 1 June.