Under 10% of people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the WHO as it issues its inaugural advice on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance recognises that obesity 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 widespread availability to the treatments that can help people shift significant weight, notes the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even in the current most optimistic scenario, the supply of these medications might only reach approximately 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to increase availability, via approaches like patent sharing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so individuals reduce food intake.
People usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research points to users may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the treatment, because their normal food cravings resume.
Being above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for developing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in every country and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
