Fewer than one in 10 patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it releases its first advice on the medications.
With over a billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with thorough and continuous treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to universal availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, notes the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Despite the present best projected scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to widen availability, through measures like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in several countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Function
The injections replicate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so users eat less.
People commonly see weight reduction in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates patients may regain a significant portion a year later of halting the treatment, when their normal food cravings come back.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your risk for experiencing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity impacts people in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
