Less than one in 10 individuals that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its first recommendations on the drugs.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with thorough and ongoing treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant barriers to universal availability to the injections that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even in the present most favorable outlook, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The advice urges governments and firms to expand access, by approaches such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
These medications replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so people consume fewer calories.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research suggests users may see weight return a year later of halting the drug, when their normal food cravings come back.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your risk for contracting health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
