Fewer than 10% of patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy have access to them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural advice on the medications.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to this class of drugs.
According to estimates, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with thorough and ongoing treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to broad availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Despite the current best projected case, the production of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the health organization.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to widen access, through approaches like licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
These medications imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
Patients typically start to lose weight within a few weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies indicates people may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the drug, because their usual food cravings return.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for contracting diseases, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers.
Obesity concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
