Fewer than a tenth of individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it releases its inaugural guidance on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, over two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with holistic and continuous care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key hurdles to widespread availability to the injections that can help people shift significant body mass, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current most favorable case, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The recommendation encourages governments and firms to expand access, through approaches like voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so people eat less.
People commonly begin shedding pounds after several weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Research points to patients may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the drug, as their normal food cravings resume.
To be overweight or obese raises your chance for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
