Less than one in 10 people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it issues its inaugural advice on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and ongoing treatment," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key hurdles to universal access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, notes the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the current most favorable outlook, the production of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The guideline encourages governments and firms to increase availability, via measures such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so people eat less.
People typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests users may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the treatment, because their typical hunger return.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your risk for contracting diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
