Less than one in 10 patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it issues its inaugural guidance on the therapies.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
According to forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and ongoing treatment," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to universal access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, says the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the current best projected case, the supply of such drugs could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The advice encourages governments and firms to widen access, via approaches such as voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so individuals consume fewer calories.
People typically see weight reduction within a few weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to people may see weight return within a year of halting the drug, as their usual hunger resume.
Being above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for experiencing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
