Less than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it issues its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Per estimates, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to universal availability to the jabs that can help people shift substantial body mass, says the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the current most favorable case, the supply of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to expand access, via measures such as licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients usually start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Research indicates people may see weight return within a year of discontinuing the treatment, when their normal food cravings resume.
Being overweight or obese increases your chance for experiencing health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
