Fewer than one in 10 patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Per forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and continuous care," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to broad access to the injections that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the present best projected case, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The guideline calls on countries and companies to widen availability, through strategies including voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
These medications imitate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.
Patients commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies suggests users may regain a significant portion within a year of halting the treatment, as their normal food cravings resume.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your risk for experiencing medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Obesity concerns individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
