Fewer than one in 10 people who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Considering over a billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for increased and just access to this class of drugs.
According to projections, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with thorough and ongoing support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key hurdles to universal availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, explains the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even under the current most favorable scenario, the supply of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to widen availability, by measures including licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Work
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence suggests patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the treatment, because their typical hunger return.
To be above a healthy weight increases your risk for experiencing medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers.
Obesity impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
