Less than one in 10 patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it issues its initial recommendations on the medications.
Given over a billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
According to projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and ongoing support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to widespread access to the injections that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Despite the current most favorable case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to increase access, by strategies including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of a leading brand – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
These medications imitate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and boost feelings of fullness so people eat less.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies suggests people may regain a significant portion a year later of discontinuing the treatment, when their typical appetite resume.
Being carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for contracting diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
