Less than 10% of patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Given over a billion people worldwide now obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
Per estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and ongoing support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the present most favorable outlook, the supply of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to expand access, via strategies like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so individuals consume fewer calories.
People typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies points to users may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the drug, because their usual appetite return.
To be above a healthy weight increases your chance for developing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in all nations and was responsible for 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
