Fewer than one in 10 people that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, states the global health agency as it publishes its initial guidance on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with thorough and continuous support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key barriers to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the present most optimistic case, the manufacturing of these medications would only suffice for around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to expand availability, through strategies like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Function
These medications imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so users eat less.
People commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research indicates patients may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the medication, when their normal hunger come back.
Being above a healthy weight increases your chance for developing diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in every country and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
