Fewer than one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy can access them, states the WHO as it issues its first recommendations on the drugs.
Given over a billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per forecasts, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and lifelong support," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to broad access to the jabs that can help people shift considerable body mass, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the present most favorable case, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline encourages countries and companies to increase availability, via measures such as licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so users consume fewer calories.
People commonly see weight reduction after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies indicates people may put most of the weight back on a year later of discontinuing the drug, because their usual appetite return.
To be overweight or obese increases your chance for contracting medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity concerns people in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
