Less than one in 10 patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, states the global health agency as it publishes its first recommendations on the medications.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with holistic and lifelong treatment," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to expand access, via approaches like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Work
These medications imitate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so users eat less.
Individuals typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies points to patients may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the drug, as their normal appetite return.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your risk for contracting medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in all nations and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
