Less than one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy can access them, states the global health agency as it issues its inaugural advice on the drugs.
With over a billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with holistic and ongoing support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to widespread availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, explains the organization.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even under the current most optimistic scenario, the supply of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to expand availability, by strategies like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and enhance satiety so people reduce food intake.
Patients typically start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Evidence points to people may put most of the weight back on within a year of discontinuing the medication, as their usual food cravings return.
To be above a healthy weight increases your risk for developing diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in all nations and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
