Under one in 10 patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it issues its first advice on the therapies.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with holistic and continuous treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to broad access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even in the present most favorable scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to widen availability, through measures like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
People usually start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Research indicates people may see weight return after a year of halting the treatment, as their typical hunger come back.
To be overweight or obese elevates your likelihood for contracting medical conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
