Less than one in 10 people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it releases its first recommendations on the drugs.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and ongoing treatment," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are significant hurdles to broad availability to the injections that can help people shift considerable body mass, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the current most favorable case, the supply of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to expand access, by measures like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of a leading brand – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
Individuals typically start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research points to users may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the treatment, as their typical appetite resume.
Being overweight or obese increases your likelihood for experiencing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
