Less than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the WHO as it releases its inaugural advice on the medications.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and continuous support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to universal access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, notes the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even under the current most optimistic case, the production of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The guideline urges countries and companies to expand access, by strategies including voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to slow digestion, reduce hunger and boost the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
Individuals usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research suggests users may regain a significant portion within a year of discontinuing the treatment, when their usual food cravings resume.
Being overweight or obese elevates your chance for developing diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in every country and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
