Less than one in 10 people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy have access to them, states the WHO as it issues its first recommendations on the therapies.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and continuous treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are major barriers to universal access to the jabs that can help people shift significant body mass, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the current best projected outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline urges governments and firms to increase availability, by strategies including licensing agreements.
A patent on the active ingredient – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
People usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies suggests people may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the medication, as their normal food cravings return.
To be above a healthy weight increases your chance for developing diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.