Less than a tenth of individuals that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, states the World Health Organization as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and ongoing treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major hurdles to broad availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, says the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the current best projected case, the production of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The recommendation urges nations and manufacturers to expand access, through strategies like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Function
The injections mimick a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds after several weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to users may regain a significant portion after a year of discontinuing the treatment, as their usual hunger come back.
To be overweight or obese raises your likelihood for experiencing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
