Less than one in 10 individuals that would benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it releases its initial recommendations on the medications.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently obese, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
According to forecasts, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and continuous treatment," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to universal availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the present most optimistic case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation urges countries and companies to expand access, via measures including licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Function
The injections replicate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so people reduce food intake.
Patients commonly see weight reduction within a few weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Research points to people may regain a significant portion a year later of halting the drug, because their typical appetite return.
To be overweight or obese elevates your risk for developing health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.
Obesity impacts people in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
