Less than a tenth of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy have access to them, caution the WHO as it releases its initial recommendations on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and lifelong treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Despite the current most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to expand availability, through approaches like patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so people eat less.
Individuals typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to patients may see weight return after a year of discontinuing the drug, because their usual hunger return.
Being overweight or obese raises your likelihood for contracting health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
