Less than 10% of patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its first recommendations on the therapies.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with holistic and lifelong care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are significant obstacles to broad availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the current most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The advice urges governments and firms to expand availability, by strategies like voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the main component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Operate
The injections mimick a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
People usually begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests people may see weight return a year later of halting the drug, as their typical appetite return.
To be carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for contracting medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
