Fewer than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it issues its first recommendations on the medications.
With more than one billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs.
Per estimates, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and ongoing support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major barriers to universal availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the present most optimistic case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to widen access, by measures such as licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Function
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost feelings of fullness so users eat less.
Patients usually start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research indicates patients may see weight return after a year of halting the treatment, when their normal food cravings resume.
To be above a healthy weight increases your risk for contracting diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
