Under a tenth of patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it issues its first guidance on the therapies.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, over two billion will be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and lifelong support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to universal access to the injections that can help people shift significant weight, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current most optimistic case, the supply of these medications might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to expand access, through measures including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
The injections replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so people consume fewer calories.
Patients commonly see weight reduction within a few weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research suggests people may see weight return a year later of halting the drug, as their normal hunger resume.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your risk for experiencing diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
