Fewer than 10% of people that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial recommendations on the drugs.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant barriers to widespread access to the jabs that can help people shift significant body mass, says the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even under the current best projected case, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to widen availability, through measures including patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
People usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests users may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the medication, when their normal appetite resume.
Being overweight or obese raises your risk for contracting diseases, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
