Fewer than 10% of people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy can access them, caution the World Health Organization as it issues its first guidance on the medications.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
According to projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with holistic and ongoing care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to widespread availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, explains the body.
Skinny Jab Scarcity
Even under the present most optimistic case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The advice calls on countries and companies to widen access, by measures like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in several countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs replicate a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so users eat less.
Patients usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Research indicates users may see weight return within a year of halting the drug, because their usual hunger resume.
To be overweight or obese raises your risk for contracting medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity affects individuals in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
