Under 10% of patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and ongoing support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to universal access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, says the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even in the current best projected outlook, the supply of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to expand availability, via approaches such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Work
The injections imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost satiety so individuals eat less.
People commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to people may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the drug, because their normal food cravings come back.
To be overweight or obese increases your risk for contracting diseases, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in every country and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
