Under one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, states the WHO as it releases its initial recommendations on the medications.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
According to projections, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidance recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and ongoing care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key barriers to broad availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the present most optimistic scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to increase access, through approaches like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Work
These medications replicate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
People typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Studies indicates users may see weight return after a year of halting the medication, because their usual food cravings return.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your chance for contracting diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
