Under a tenth of individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it issues its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
With over a billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
Per forecasts, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and continuous treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to broad availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even in the present most optimistic outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline urges countries and companies to expand access, by measures including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of a leading brand – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.
Patients commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Studies indicates users may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the drug, when their normal hunger return.
Being overweight or obese increases your risk for developing health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
