Fewer than one in 10 patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it issues its first recommendations on the medications.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and ongoing support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are significant hurdles to universal availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current most optimistic case, the supply of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline encourages governments and firms to increase availability, through approaches such as voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
The injections mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
People usually begin shedding pounds after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research points to patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the treatment, when their usual hunger resume.
To be above a healthy weight increases your chance for experiencing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight affects individuals in every country and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
