Under one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it releases its inaugural advice on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with holistic and continuous treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to broad availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the present most optimistic scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The recommendation calls on countries and companies to expand access, through strategies like voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Operate
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so people reduce food intake.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to users may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the treatment, because their usual food cravings resume.
To be above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.
Obesity impacts people in every country and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
