Under a tenth of patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its first recommendations on the medications.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to broad availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even in the present most optimistic outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The recommendation calls on governments and firms to widen access, through measures such as licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Function
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so people consume fewer calories.
People typically start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence points to people may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the treatment, because their typical food cravings return.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your risk for developing health problems, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Obesity affects people in all nations and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
