Less than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it issues its initial recommendations on the therapies.
Given more than one billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and ongoing care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to broad availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, says the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current most optimistic case, the production of such drugs would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to widen availability, by measures like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance feelings of fullness so individuals eat less.
Individuals typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to patients may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the treatment, when their usual hunger return.
Being above a healthy weight increases your risk for developing diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
