Fewer than a tenth of individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, states the global health agency as it issues its inaugural advice on the therapies.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
According to projections, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with holistic and lifelong care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to broad availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the present most favorable outlook, the supply of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to widen access, via strategies including patent sharing.
A patent on semaglutide – the core ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Work
These medications replicate a biological compound to slow digestion, curb appetite and boost satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
People commonly begin shedding pounds after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research indicates people may regain a significant portion a year later of discontinuing the drug, as their typical food cravings return.
Being overweight or obese elevates your chance for contracting diseases, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was responsible for 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
