Under 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it issues its initial advice on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, over two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to broad access to the treatments that can help people shift significant body mass, says the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the current most optimistic case, the production of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The advice urges governments and firms to widen access, through strategies including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and increase satiety so users reduce food intake.
Patients commonly see weight reduction after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates people may put most of the weight back on within a year of discontinuing the drug, as their typical hunger come back.
To be overweight or obese increases your likelihood for contracting health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
