Fewer than 10% of people that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and continuous support," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to broad availability to the treatments that can help people shift significant weight, notes the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the present most optimistic case, the supply of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to increase availability, through strategies like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
People commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies indicates users may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the medication, because their usual appetite come back.
Being carrying excess weight increases your risk for experiencing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in all nations and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
