Less than 10% of individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with thorough and lifelong treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are significant barriers to widespread availability to the treatments that can help people shift significant body mass, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Despite the current most optimistic scenario, the manufacturing of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to expand availability, through strategies such as voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance feelings of fullness so individuals eat less.
Patients usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research indicates users may regain a significant portion after a year of halting the drug, as their usual hunger resume.
Being above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for developing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in countries worldwide and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
