Under a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it issues its initial guidance on the therapies.
With over a billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is urging increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
According to estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with thorough and continuous support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to universal availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even in the current most optimistic scenario, the supply of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, through strategies including patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
These medications replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost satiety so people reduce food intake.
Patients typically see weight reduction within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to people may regain a significant portion a year later of discontinuing the treatment, because their typical hunger return.
Being above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for contracting diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity affects individuals in every country and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
