Fewer than 10% of patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its initial recommendations on the medications.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on forecasts, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with holistic and continuous treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to broad availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the present most optimistic scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to widen availability, by strategies including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and boost satiety so people reduce food intake.
People typically see weight reduction in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Studies indicates patients may regain a significant portion a year later of stopping the medication, when their usual food cravings come back.
To be overweight or obese elevates your likelihood for developing diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight affects people in every country and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
