Under 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy have access to them, states the global health agency as it issues its first guidance on the medications.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
According to forecasts, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and lifelong treatment," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key hurdles to widespread availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, says the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the current most optimistic outlook, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The advice calls on governments and firms to increase access, through approaches including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and increase feelings of fullness so individuals eat less.
Individuals usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to users may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the drug, as their usual hunger return.
Being above a healthy weight increases your chance for developing health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.
Obesity impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
