Fewer than one in 10 people that would benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the WHO as it issues its initial advice on the drugs.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
According to forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with holistic and ongoing treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to universal access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the agency.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Despite the present best projected scenario, the supply of these medications might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to expand availability, by approaches like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and boost feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies indicates users may see weight return a year later of stopping the drug, as their normal food cravings resume.
To be above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for contracting health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
