Less than 10% of individuals that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its first guidance on the medications.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to widespread access to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, notes the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the current most favorable case, the supply of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to widen availability, by measures such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Function
These medications imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals eat less.
People commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates patients may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the drug, because their usual hunger resume.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your chance for experiencing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
