Under a tenth of patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy have access to them, states the WHO as it publishes its first advice on the drugs.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
According to estimates, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with thorough and continuous care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to widespread availability to the injections that can help people shift considerable body mass, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Despite the present most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The advice encourages governments and firms to expand availability, through approaches including voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the main component of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and enhance satiety so people eat less.
Patients commonly begin shedding pounds after several weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates patients may see weight return after a year of discontinuing the drug, when their normal appetite return.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your likelihood for experiencing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in all nations and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
