Less than one in 10 patients who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy have access to them, caution the World Health Organization as it releases its first guidance on the drugs.
Considering over a billion people worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with holistic and ongoing care," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are major hurdles to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, notes the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Despite the current most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The guideline calls on countries and companies to widen availability, via approaches including voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Function
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so users reduce food intake.
Patients commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to people may regain a significant portion after a year of stopping the drug, as their typical food cravings resume.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your chance for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight impacts individuals in all nations and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
