Less than a tenth of people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it issues its initial recommendations on the therapies.
Considering over a billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with thorough and continuous care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to universal access to the treatments that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even under the present best projected scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for around 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The advice calls on countries and companies to widen access, via approaches like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Work
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so users eat less.
People usually begin shedding pounds after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research indicates people may regain a significant portion within a year of halting the treatment, because their normal appetite return.
To be carrying excess weight raises your risk for experiencing diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity affects individuals in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
