Under one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and lifelong care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the present best projected case, the production of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The advice encourages countries and companies to expand availability, by approaches including patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Work
The injections replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost satiety so people consume fewer calories.
Patients commonly see weight reduction after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to people may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the drug, when their normal appetite return.
To be overweight or obese increases your likelihood for experiencing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in all nations and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
