Fewer than a tenth of people that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it releases its initial recommendations on the medications.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with holistic and ongoing treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to broad availability to the jabs that can help people shift significant weight, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even in the present most favorable outlook, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to widen availability, by strategies including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so people eat less.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Studies suggests users may regain a significant portion a year later of halting the medication, because their normal hunger resume.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your chance for contracting diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in every country and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
