Under one in 10 individuals who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the World Health Organization as it issues its first recommendations on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
Based on estimates, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and continuous treatment," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to widespread availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, says the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the current most optimistic scenario, the supply of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, through strategies like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals usually see weight reduction after several weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates users may see weight return within a year of stopping the treatment, when their usual hunger come back.
To be above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for developing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
