Under 10% of people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, caution the WHO as it issues its first advice on the drugs.
Given more than one billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our new guidance recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with holistic and continuous support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are major hurdles to universal availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even under the present most optimistic outlook, the production of such drugs would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The advice urges countries and companies to increase access, by strategies like patent sharing.
A patent on semaglutide – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost feelings of fullness so individuals reduce food intake.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Research points to users may regain a significant portion after a year of stopping the medication, as their usual appetite resume.
To be overweight or obese raises your risk for developing diseases, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific cancers.
Obesity affects individuals in all nations and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
