Less than one in 10 patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it issues its first advice on the medications.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is urging increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Based on projections, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and lifelong treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to broad availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the present best projected case, the production of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The recommendation encourages governments and firms to increase access, through approaches such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Work
These medications mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost satiety so people reduce food intake.
Patients commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence suggests people may see weight return within a year of halting the drug, when their normal appetite come back.
To be above a healthy weight raises your risk for contracting health problems, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity affects people in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
