Less than 10% of patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its first guidance on the therapies.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to this class of drugs.
Based on projections, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and lifelong care," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key barriers to broad access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of such drugs might only reach around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The guideline urges countries and companies to widen access, through measures like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Operate
These medications mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so users consume fewer calories.
Patients commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies indicates patients may regain a significant portion a year later of discontinuing the drug, when their typical food cravings return.
To be above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for experiencing medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in all nations and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
