Under a tenth of people who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it releases its initial advice on the drugs.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and lifelong care," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to universal access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, explains the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even under the present best projected scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to widen availability, via approaches including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Function
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so people reduce food intake.
Individuals usually start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research suggests people may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the drug, as their typical food cravings return.
Being above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for experiencing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
