Under a tenth of individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it releases its first advice on the medications.
Given more than one billion people worldwide now obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, notes the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Despite the current most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The recommendation urges nations and manufacturers to increase access, through measures such as licensing agreements.
A patent on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
The injections mimick a biological compound to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.
Patients commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research points to users may regain a significant portion after a year of stopping the medication, as their usual hunger resume.
To be above a healthy weight increases your chance for developing diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in countries worldwide and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
