Under 10% of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it releases its initial guidance on the therapies.
With more than one billion people worldwide now obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, over two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and continuous treatment," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to widespread access to the treatments that can help people shift significant weight, notes the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even in the current most optimistic case, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The recommendation encourages countries and companies to expand availability, via measures like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Work
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
People usually begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the treatment, because their normal appetite resume.
Being overweight or obese raises your chance for contracting diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
