Less than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its first guidance on the medications.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to broad availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the current most favorable case, the supply of these medications might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to increase availability, through measures like licensing agreements.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
These medications imitate a biological compound to slow digestion, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.
Individuals typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Evidence suggests people may regain a significant portion a year later of stopping the medication, when their normal food cravings come back.
To be carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for contracting health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight impacts individuals in all nations and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
