Fewer than 10% of patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its first guidance on the medications.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
Per projections, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous support," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to broad availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even under the present best projected case, the production of such drugs could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The recommendation calls on governments and firms to widen access, through approaches like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core ingredient of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Function
The injections mimick a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so people consume fewer calories.
Individuals typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests people may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the medication, when their normal appetite return.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your chance for developing health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in every country and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
