Less than 10% of patients eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its first recommendations on the medications.
With over a billion people worldwide currently obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with holistic and ongoing care," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to widespread access to the treatments that can help people shift substantial body mass, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even under the current best projected case, the supply of these medications would only suffice for around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The recommendation calls on countries and companies to expand availability, through approaches including licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so individuals eat less.
Patients typically see weight reduction within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates patients may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the drug, when their normal appetite return.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your chance for developing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
