Under 10% of people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, caution the WHO as it issues its first guidance on the medications.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to universal availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Despite the current most optimistic scenario, the supply of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The advice encourages governments and firms to widen availability, by approaches like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so individuals eat less.
Individuals usually start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies indicates patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the treatment, when their typical hunger resume.
Being carrying excess weight raises your risk for experiencing medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in every country and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
