Fewer than one in 10 patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it issues its first guidance on the therapies.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Per projections, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidance affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with holistic and lifelong support," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are significant hurdles to widespread access to the treatments that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even under the present most favorable scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The advice calls on countries and companies to expand access, by strategies including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and boost satiety so users consume fewer calories.
People commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to users may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the drug, when their typical hunger come back.
To be carrying excess weight raises your chance for experiencing diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.
Obesity impacts individuals in every country and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
