Fewer than 10% of patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it publishes its first advice on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is calling for increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per forecasts, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidance affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with holistic and lifelong support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are key obstacles to broad availability to the injections that can help people shift significant weight, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the present most favorable case, the production of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to expand access, by strategies like patent sharing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so people consume fewer calories.
Individuals usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests people may see weight return after a year of stopping the drug, as their usual appetite resume.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your chance for contracting medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity impacts people in countries worldwide and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
