Under 10% of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it releases its initial recommendations on the drugs.
With more than one billion people worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the present most favorable scenario, the production of these medications would only suffice for around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to increase availability, through approaches including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of a leading brand – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
These medications replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so users consume fewer calories.
People usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to people may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the drug, because their usual appetite return.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your risk for developing health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in every country and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
