Fewer than 10% of patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy have access to them, warns the WHO as it publishes its initial guidance on the medications.
Given more than one billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and continuous treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to broad availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, notes the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the current most optimistic case, the manufacturing of these medications might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The recommendation urges countries and companies to widen access, by approaches like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Operate
These medications mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and boost the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.
Individuals typically start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research indicates patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the medication, as their typical food cravings resume.
Being carrying excess weight increases your risk for experiencing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
