Fewer than 10% of patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, states the global health agency as it issues its initial recommendations on the drugs.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with holistic and ongoing care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant hurdles to universal access to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even under the present best projected scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The advice calls on governments and firms to expand access, by measures such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
Patients usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Evidence indicates patients may regain a significant portion a year later of stopping the treatment, because their usual hunger resume.
To be overweight or obese raises your risk for experiencing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight affects people in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
