Fewer than a tenth of individuals who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy have access to them, states the WHO as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the medications.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
According to forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with thorough and ongoing treatment," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key obstacles to broad availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, notes the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even in the current best projected case, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice calls on governments and firms to expand access, by approaches such as licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to slow digestion, curb appetite and increase satiety so users reduce food intake.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence points to patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of discontinuing the drug, when their normal appetite resume.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your likelihood for developing medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
