Less than one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its first recommendations on the drugs.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with comprehensive and continuous treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are significant obstacles to broad access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the current most favorable scenario, the supply of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to widen availability, via measures such as voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Operate
The injections imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so people eat less.
Individuals typically start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Studies points to patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the treatment, when their usual food cravings resume.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your risk for contracting medical conditions, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers.
Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
