Fewer than one in 10 patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it issues its first recommendations on the drugs.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
Based on projections, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and ongoing support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to universal access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, notes the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the present best projected case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to expand availability, via approaches including patent sharing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Work
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
People commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research indicates people may see weight return within a year of stopping the medication, when their usual appetite return.
Being overweight or obese raises your chance for contracting medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Obesity concerns people in all nations and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
