Fewer than 10% of patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Per projections, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to widespread access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the present most optimistic outlook, the production of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The recommendation urges nations and manufacturers to increase availability, by measures including licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to slow digestion, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake.
People usually begin shedding pounds after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to people may regain a significant portion after a year of halting the treatment, because their usual food cravings return.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your risk for developing medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
