Fewer than 10% of patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its first guidance on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
According to estimates, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and ongoing support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to widespread availability to the jabs that can help people shift considerable body mass, says the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the present most favorable outlook, the supply of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to increase access, by strategies including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the main component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost feelings of fullness so individuals reduce food intake.
Individuals usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research suggests patients may see weight return after a year of halting the drug, as their typical food cravings resume.
Being overweight or obese increases your likelihood for developing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity concerns individuals in every country and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
