Under a tenth of people that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it releases its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and ongoing support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to universal availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the present most favorable case, the supply of these medications might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to widen access, by strategies like patent sharing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so users reduce food intake.
People usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Research points to patients may regain a significant portion after a year of stopping the medication, as their usual food cravings come back.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your risk for developing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was responsible for 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
