Fewer than a tenth of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, states the WHO as it publishes its first advice on the medications.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and continuous treatment," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to widespread availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even in the present best projected outlook, the production of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to widen access, via strategies including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies indicates people may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the drug, because their typical food cravings come back.
To be above a healthy weight increases your risk for contracting diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
