Fewer than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy can access them, states the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial guidance on the therapies.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and lifelong support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant obstacles to broad availability to the treatments that can help people shift significant weight, says the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the current most optimistic scenario, the supply of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to increase availability, through measures including voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so people reduce food intake.
People typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Studies indicates patients may see weight return after a year of stopping the medication, when their normal food cravings come back.
Being overweight or obese increases your chance for developing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in all nations and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
