Less than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it issues its initial guidance on the therapies.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even under the current most favorable case, the production of these medications might only reach approximately 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The advice encourages governments and firms to widen availability, through approaches such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Work
These medications imitate a biological compound to slow digestion, curb appetite and increase satiety so people consume fewer calories.
People commonly see weight reduction within a few weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research suggests patients may regain a significant portion a year later of discontinuing the medication, as their usual hunger resume.
To be overweight or obese increases your risk for developing health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity impacts people in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
