Under one in 10 individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, warns the WHO as it releases its inaugural guidance on the therapies.
With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with holistic and continuous treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major barriers to broad access to the treatments that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the current best projected scenario, the supply of these medications would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to expand availability, via measures including voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Function
The injections replicate a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
Patients typically start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Evidence points to patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the treatment, because their normal hunger return.
To be above a healthy weight increases your risk for contracting medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
