Fewer than 10% of people who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the WHO as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Given more than one billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on projections, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our new guidelines affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with thorough and lifelong care," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to universal access to the injections that can help people shift substantial body mass, says the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the current best projected scenario, the supply of such drugs would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline calls on governments and firms to widen access, via strategies such as voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
These medications mimick a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost satiety so users eat less.
People typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to patients may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the treatment, when their typical appetite resume.
To be carrying excess weight elevates your chance for contracting diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in all nations and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
