Less than one in 10 individuals who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy have access to them, states the global health agency as it releases its inaugural advice on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with holistic and ongoing support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are key barriers to broad availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the current most favorable outlook, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The advice calls on governments and firms to expand availability, by measures such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research indicates patients may see weight return after a year of halting the medication, as their normal appetite resume.
To be carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for contracting medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
