Under one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its first recommendations on the therapies.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidance recognises that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and continuous support," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major barriers to universal availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, explains the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even in the current most favorable scenario, the supply of such drugs could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The advice calls on governments and firms to widen availability, through measures like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Function
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
Patients usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to people may see weight return after a year of halting the treatment, when their usual hunger return.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for developing diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
