Less than one in 10 individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it issues its initial advice on the therapies.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Per forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance recognises that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with holistic and lifelong care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key barriers to broad access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, explains the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Despite the present best projected scenario, the supply of these medications might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to increase access, through measures including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
The injections mimick a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and increase satiety so people eat less.
People usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research suggests users may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the drug, because their usual food cravings come back.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for experiencing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
