Under one in 10 individuals who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, states the global health agency as it publishes its first guidance on the therapies.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
According to forecasts, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and continuous care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to widespread access to the treatments that can help people shift considerable body mass, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the current best projected case, the manufacturing of these medications might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to widen access, by strategies such as licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and increase feelings of fullness so people eat less.
People typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Research points to patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the drug, because their usual appetite come back.
Being carrying excess weight increases your chance for experiencing diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity affects individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
