Less than one in 10 patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, states the global health agency as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and continuous care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to universal availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing substantial body mass, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even in the present most favorable case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to widen availability, via strategies like patent sharing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Function
These medications mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so users reduce food intake.
Patients commonly see weight reduction within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies suggests patients may see weight return after a year of stopping the medication, as their typical food cravings come back.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your chance for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
