Under 10% of people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy can access them, states the global health agency as it publishes its initial recommendations on the drugs.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
According to estimates, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with holistic and continuous care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to universal availability to the jabs that can help people shift considerable weight, says the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the current most optimistic scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The guideline calls on countries and companies to increase access, by strategies like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.
Patients usually start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies indicates patients may see weight return a year later of halting the treatment, when their usual appetite resume.
Being overweight or obese increases your chance for contracting health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity affects people in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
