Under a tenth of individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, states the WHO as it publishes its initial guidance on the therapies.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
According to projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and ongoing care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to widespread access to the jabs that can help people shift significant weight, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the current best projected scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to increase availability, through measures including licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost feelings of fullness so users eat less.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to users may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the treatment, when their normal hunger return.
Being carrying excess weight raises your chance for developing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
