Under 10% of patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its inaugural advice on the medications.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our new guidelines affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with holistic and lifelong support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the current most optimistic case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The advice calls on countries and companies to expand availability, by measures including patent sharing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Operate
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so individuals reduce food intake.
Patients typically see weight reduction within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research suggests patients may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the medication, when their usual food cravings resume.
To be overweight or obese elevates your likelihood for experiencing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
