Fewer than 10% of people who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, caution the global health agency as it releases its initial advice on the drugs.
With over a billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Per estimates, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and lifelong support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major barriers to universal availability to the injections that can help people shift considerable body mass, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the current best projected scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover about 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline calls on governments and firms to increase availability, via strategies including licensing agreements.
A patent on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase satiety so people reduce food intake.
People commonly see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research suggests people may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the medication, as their normal appetite come back.
To be carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for contracting diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
