Less than 10% of people that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it issues its first advice on the medications.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now obese, it is urging broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with thorough and ongoing support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are major hurdles to universal availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the current most optimistic scenario, the production of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to widen access, via strategies like licensing agreements.
A patent on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Function
These medications replicate a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
Patients commonly see weight reduction in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Studies points to users may see weight return within a year of stopping the treatment, because their usual hunger resume.
To be overweight or obese increases your risk for experiencing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight impacts individuals in every country and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
