Fewer than 10% of individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it releases its initial recommendations on the therapies.
With over a billion people worldwide now obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, over two billion could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and continuous care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to widespread availability to the treatments that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the current most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to expand access, by measures such as licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
These medications imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.
People commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence suggests people may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the drug, because their normal food cravings resume.
Being overweight or obese raises your risk for experiencing medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight affects people in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
