Under a tenth of patients who could benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it issues its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to universal access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, explains the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even in the current most optimistic outlook, the production of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to widen availability, through measures like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance feelings of fullness so individuals reduce food intake.
People usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research suggests users may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the treatment, as their normal appetite come back.
To be overweight or obese increases your chance for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight impacts individuals in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
