Fewer than one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its initial advice on the drugs.
With over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging increased and just access to this class of drugs.
Per projections, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and continuous treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to universal availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the present most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The recommendation urges nations and manufacturers to widen availability, through strategies such as licensing agreements.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
People usually start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests users may regain a significant portion after a year of stopping the medication, because their usual food cravings return.
To be above a healthy weight increases your risk for developing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Obesity affects people in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
