Fewer than 10% of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with thorough and continuous care," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, says the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the current most favorable outlook, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The recommendation encourages governments and firms to expand availability, through strategies such as patent sharing.
A patent on a key compound – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Function
These medications replicate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so users eat less.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to patients may put most of the weight back on a year later of discontinuing the medication, as their normal food cravings resume.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your likelihood for developing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
