Under 10% of individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the World Health Organization as it issues its first guidance on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
Based on projections, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing care," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to widespread access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the current most favorable case, the supply of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The guideline encourages governments and firms to expand access, by measures like patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Work
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and boost the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
People usually see weight reduction after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence suggests patients may see weight return a year later of halting the drug, when their normal hunger come back.
To be carrying excess weight increases your chance for developing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
