Fewer than one in 10 people that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, caution the WHO as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently obese, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with comprehensive and continuous treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to broad access to the jabs that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even in the current most optimistic scenario, the supply of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The recommendation calls on countries and companies to increase access, through measures like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Work
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so people eat less.
Patients commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Research suggests people may see weight return within a year of stopping the drug, as their normal food cravings return.
To be overweight or obese elevates your risk for contracting diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in every country and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
