Fewer than one in 10 patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, caution the World Health Organization as it releases its initial advice on the therapies.
With more than one billion people worldwide now obese, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
According to projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidance affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and ongoing care," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to broad availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, says the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the present most optimistic case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to increase availability, through strategies like voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
These medications imitate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and boost satiety so people eat less.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies points to patients may see weight return a year later of halting the treatment, as their normal food cravings resume.
To be overweight or obese raises your chance for contracting diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
