Under a tenth of people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, states the World Health Organization as it releases its first recommendations on the therapies.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently obese, it is urging increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and ongoing treatment," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to universal availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even under the present best projected case, the production of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The guideline urges governments and firms to widen availability, by measures such as voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to slow digestion, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so people eat less.
Patients commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to users may see weight return within a year of halting the treatment, as their normal appetite come back.
Being above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for experiencing diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
