Fewer than 10% of individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its first guidance on the therapies.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and continuous treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the current most favorable case, the supply of such drugs could only cover about 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to increase availability, by strategies such as voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and enhance satiety so users consume fewer calories.
People commonly see weight reduction within a few weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Evidence suggests patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the drug, as their normal food cravings resume.
To be overweight or obese raises your likelihood for developing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Obesity affects people in all nations and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
