Fewer than 10% of people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy can access them, caution the World Health Organization as it issues its initial guidance on the medications.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently obese, it is urging increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
According to forecasts, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the present best projected outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to widen availability, via measures including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Function
The injections replicate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research indicates users may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the treatment, because their typical appetite resume.
To be above a healthy weight raises your chance for experiencing diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in every country and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
