Under one in 10 individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, caution the World Health Organization as it issues its first advice on the therapies.
With over a billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and continuous care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key hurdles to broad availability to the treatments that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the present most favorable outlook, the supply of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation calls on governments and firms to widen availability, through strategies including patent sharing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core component of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Work
The injections replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and increase feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
People usually start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies points to patients may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the treatment, when their normal hunger resume.
To be carrying excess weight increases your chance for contracting health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in every country and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
