Fewer than one in 10 people who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial guidance on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidance affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with thorough and continuous treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major barriers to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, explains the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the present most optimistic scenario, the supply of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline urges governments and firms to expand availability, through approaches like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Function
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds after several weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Evidence points to people may see weight return after a year of discontinuing the drug, when their usual appetite return.
To be above a healthy weight raises your chance for developing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in every country and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
