Under a tenth of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its initial advice on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing treatment," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to widespread access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the current most optimistic scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to expand access, via strategies including licensing agreements.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Function
These medications replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so individuals eat less.
People usually start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Research suggests people may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the medication, because their normal hunger resume.
To be overweight or obese increases your chance for contracting medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
