Fewer than a tenth of people who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, states the World Health Organization as it releases its initial advice on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the present best projected outlook, the supply of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The advice urges governments and firms to expand availability, via approaches including voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so people consume fewer calories.
Patients usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to people may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the treatment, when their typical food cravings resume.
To be above a healthy weight raises your chance for contracting medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
