Fewer than 10% of people that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its initial advice on the medications.
Given more than one billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our new guidance recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and continuous treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to widespread access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the current best projected outlook, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The guideline calls on countries and companies to increase availability, through approaches including voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.
People usually begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research indicates patients may see weight return within a year of halting the medication, as their normal food cravings return.
To be carrying excess weight increases your chance for developing medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
