Fewer than 10% of people that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and lifelong treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant barriers to widespread access to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the current most optimistic case, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to increase access, by measures including patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Operate
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so users reduce food intake.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research suggests people may put most of the weight back on within a year of discontinuing the treatment, as their typical appetite come back.
To be carrying excess weight raises your chance for experiencing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in every country and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
