Less than one in 10 patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it releases its first advice on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on projections, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and ongoing treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to broad access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the current most optimistic case, the supply of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to widen access, by strategies such as licensing agreements.
A patent on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Work
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Evidence indicates users may see weight return within a year of stopping the drug, when their typical hunger come back.
To be overweight or obese elevates your likelihood for contracting diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
