Less than a tenth of people who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it issues its first recommendations on the drugs.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide now obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to broad access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the current best projected outlook, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The advice calls on governments and firms to widen access, through measures such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main component of a leading brand – is due to expire in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
People typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies indicates users may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the drug, when their normal hunger return.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your chance for contracting medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Obesity concerns people in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
