Less than a tenth of patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it releases its first recommendations on the therapies.
With more than one billion people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to broad availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing substantial body mass, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even in the present most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The advice encourages governments and firms to widen availability, through measures like licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Work
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so individuals eat less.
People usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research suggests people may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the drug, because their usual food cravings resume.
Being carrying excess weight raises your chance for developing medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
