Fewer than one in 10 individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial recommendations on the drugs.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with thorough and continuous care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to universal availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, explains the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even in the current most optimistic outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline encourages countries and companies to increase access, via strategies including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Work
These medications imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so people eat less.
Patients commonly see weight reduction after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies points to patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the drug, as their usual food cravings return.
Being above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for developing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in every country and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
