Fewer than one in 10 people that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and ongoing support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to universal access to the injections that can help people shift significant weight, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Despite the present best projected case, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, by measures such as voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests people may see weight return within a year of discontinuing the drug, because their typical hunger return.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your risk for contracting diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
