Fewer than one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it publishes its initial advice on the medications.
Considering over a billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with holistic and ongoing treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to widespread access to the injections that can help people shift considerable body mass, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to expand access, via strategies like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
The injections mimick a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so users consume fewer calories.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates people may put most of the weight back on a year later of discontinuing the treatment, because their typical appetite return.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your chance for developing medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Obesity affects individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
