Less than a tenth of individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it issues its initial guidance on the medications.
With over a billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with thorough and ongoing support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are significant barriers to universal availability to the injections that can help people shift substantial body mass, notes the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the current most favorable case, the production of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to widen availability, via approaches including voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Work
These medications imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so users consume fewer calories.
Individuals commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests users may see weight return after a year of halting the treatment, when their normal appetite return.
Being overweight or obese increases your chance for developing diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was linked to 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
