Less than a tenth of people that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it issues its initial guidance on the therapies.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and lifelong support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are significant obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Despite the current most favorable outlook, the supply of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline calls on governments and firms to widen availability, through approaches like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost feelings of fullness so individuals eat less.
Individuals typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research points to people may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the drug, when their normal hunger come back.
Being carrying excess weight raises your risk for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was responsible for 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
