Fewer than 10% of individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its initial recommendations on the medications.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with thorough and continuous care," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major barriers to universal availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing substantial body mass, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even under the current most favorable outlook, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to widen availability, through approaches like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
Individuals typically see weight reduction after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research suggests patients may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the treatment, because their normal appetite come back.
To be overweight or obese elevates your chance for developing medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.
Obesity affects people in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
