Less than 10% of patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it releases its inaugural guidance on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now obese, it is calling for increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and continuous care," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even in the present most optimistic scenario, the supply of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to increase access, via approaches like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research suggests users may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the medication, because their normal food cravings resume.
To be above a healthy weight raises your risk for contracting health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity concerns individuals in every country and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
