Under one in 10 people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, states the WHO as it publishes its first recommendations on the drugs.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and continuous support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to broad access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the present most favorable case, the production of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for around 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to increase access, by strategies such as licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
The injections imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost feelings of fullness so individuals eat less.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research points to users may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the medication, as their usual appetite return.
To be carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for developing health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.
Obesity impacts people in all nations and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
