Fewer than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, states the global health agency as it issues its inaugural guidance on the medications.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
According to forecasts, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to broad availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing substantial body mass, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the current best projected outlook, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to widen access, via strategies such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the primary component of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Function
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so individuals eat less.
Individuals typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the drug, when their typical hunger return.
To be above a healthy weight raises your risk for experiencing diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
