Less than one in 10 people who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidance recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with thorough and lifelong support," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to broad access to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even in the current most optimistic scenario, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline encourages governments and firms to widen access, through strategies like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to people may put most of the weight back on within a year of discontinuing the drug, because their usual hunger resume.
Being carrying excess weight raises your likelihood for developing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.
Obesity affects individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
