Less than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its first recommendations on the drugs.
Given over a billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with thorough and continuous support," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to broad access to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the present most favorable case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline urges governments and firms to widen availability, through approaches including voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research points to people may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the drug, when their normal appetite return.
To be overweight or obese raises your chance for developing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity affects individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
