Under one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, states the WHO as it publishes its first advice on the medications.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and continuous support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major hurdles to universal access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even under the present best projected outlook, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies could only cover about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The guideline urges countries and companies to widen access, via approaches such as licensing agreements.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so individuals eat less.
People typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research indicates users may see weight return within a year of discontinuing the treatment, as their usual appetite return.
To be carrying excess weight increases your chance for developing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
