Fewer than a tenth of patients that would benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it publishes its inaugural advice on the medications.
Given over a billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to widespread availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the present best projected case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to increase access, through strategies including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so people reduce food intake.
Individuals usually begin shedding pounds after several weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Research suggests patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the medication, as their usual hunger come back.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your chance for contracting medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight impacts individuals in all nations and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
