Fewer than one in 10 patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it releases its first guidance on the drugs.
With over a billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and continuous care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to widespread availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, notes the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Despite the present most favorable scenario, the production of these medications might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The guideline encourages countries and companies to expand availability, via approaches such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Operate
The injections mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so people eat less.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to people may see weight return a year later of halting the medication, as their normal food cravings return.
To be carrying excess weight raises your likelihood for experiencing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight affects individuals in all nations and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
