Fewer than a tenth of people who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its initial guidance on the therapies.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to broad availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the current most optimistic case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The guideline encourages governments and firms to widen availability, by strategies such as licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
The injections imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so people eat less.
Patients typically see weight reduction within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies suggests users may regain a significant portion after a year of stopping the drug, because their typical appetite resume.
Being carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for developing medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific cancers.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
