Less than 10% of people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it releases its inaugural advice on the therapies.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on projections, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and ongoing support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to universal access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, notes the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even under the present best projected outlook, the manufacturing of these medications would only suffice for around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The guideline encourages countries and companies to widen access, by measures such as voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of a leading brand – is due to expire in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so users reduce food intake.
Patients commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research suggests users may regain a significant portion within a year of halting the drug, when their normal food cravings resume.
To be overweight or obese raises your likelihood for developing medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
