Less than one in 10 people eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy can access them, caution the World Health Organization as it releases its first guidance on the therapies.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
According to forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with thorough and lifelong treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to widespread availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even in the present best projected scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The advice urges governments and firms to expand availability, via strategies including patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and increase satiety so users consume fewer calories.
People usually start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies indicates users may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the medication, because their normal hunger resume.
To be carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for contracting health problems, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity affects individuals in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
