Fewer than 10% of patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it issues its first advice on the medications.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with holistic and ongoing support," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to widespread availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the present most optimistic case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to expand access, via measures including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core component of a leading brand – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Work
The injections replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase satiety so people eat less.
People usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Evidence suggests patients may see weight return a year later of stopping the treatment, because their normal hunger resume.
To be carrying excess weight raises your chance for contracting health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in all nations and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
