Fewer than one in 10 people who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy have access to them, caution the global health agency as it releases its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and ongoing care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are significant hurdles to universal availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even under the current best projected scenario, the production of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to widen availability, via approaches such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.
Individuals usually see weight reduction after several weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Studies suggests users may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the treatment, when their usual hunger resume.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your risk for contracting medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Obesity affects people in every country and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
