Fewer than a tenth of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial recommendations on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and ongoing support," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to widespread access to the treatments that can help people shift considerable body mass, explains the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the current best projected case, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The advice calls on governments and firms to widen access, via strategies including voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research indicates patients may put most of the weight back on a year later of discontinuing the drug, as their usual food cravings resume.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your risk for developing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
