Under one in 10 individuals who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its first recommendations on the drugs.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on forecasts, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with thorough and continuous care," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are key hurdles to widespread availability to the injections that can help people shift significant body mass, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the present best projected scenario, the production of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The guideline calls on governments and firms to widen access, by approaches including voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so people eat less.
People commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies points to patients may regain a significant portion after a year of halting the treatment, because their normal appetite return.
Being above a healthy weight raises your chance for developing medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight affects individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
