Fewer than a tenth of people who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
With more than one billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with thorough and continuous support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key barriers to universal availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, notes the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the present best projected scenario, the supply of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to expand availability, through strategies such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase satiety so users consume fewer calories.
People commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research indicates patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the treatment, when their typical appetite return.
To be above a healthy weight raises your risk for developing health problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in every country and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
