Under one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it releases its first recommendations on the therapies.
Given over a billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with holistic and lifelong support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to broad access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant weight, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even under the current best projected scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The advice calls on countries and companies to expand access, by approaches such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
The injections replicate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.
People usually begin shedding pounds after several weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to patients may see weight return within a year of stopping the medication, as their typical hunger come back.
To be above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for contracting health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight affects individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
