Under 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural advice on the medications.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and lifelong treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to widespread access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even under the current most favorable outlook, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to expand access, via measures like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Function
These medications replicate a biological compound to slow digestion, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.
Individuals usually start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Research suggests people may regain a significant portion a year later of discontinuing the medication, when their normal hunger return.
To be above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for developing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight affects people in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
