Under one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it issues its initial recommendations on the therapies.
With over a billion people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
According to forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and continuous support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are key obstacles to widespread availability to the jabs that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Despite the current best projected case, the production of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to expand availability, via approaches including licensing agreements.
A patent on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so users eat less.
People commonly see weight reduction after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research suggests users may see weight return within a year of stopping the treatment, because their normal hunger come back.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for contracting health problems, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in all nations and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
