Less than 10% of patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the medications.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and lifelong care," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can help people shift significant body mass, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the present best projected case, the production of such drugs could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to expand availability, through measures including patent sharing.
A patent on a key compound – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so individuals eat less.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Research indicates patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the treatment, because their usual appetite resume.
Being above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for experiencing diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
