Less than one in 10 individuals who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently obese, it is calling for increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and ongoing care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to widespread access to the injections that can help people shift significant weight, says the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the present best projected case, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for around 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The guideline urges countries and companies to expand availability, by measures like licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
People usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence suggests people may regain a significant portion a year later of halting the treatment, because their typical food cravings resume.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your chance for contracting medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight affects individuals in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
