Fewer than 10% of people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy have access to them, states the global health agency as it issues its inaugural guidance on the medications.
Considering over a billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and lifelong support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to broad availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, notes the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even under the present best projected outlook, the supply of these medications would only suffice for around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, through approaches including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Function
The injections mimick a biological compound to slow digestion, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.
Individuals usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research points to patients may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the medication, as their normal food cravings come back.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your likelihood for developing medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity impacts people in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
