Less than a tenth of patients who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with holistic and continuous support," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are key barriers to broad access to the jabs that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the current best projected case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The advice urges governments and firms to expand availability, via approaches including voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and increase satiety so people consume fewer calories.
People commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research points to users may see weight return after a year of halting the medication, because their normal food cravings come back.
Being overweight or obese elevates your likelihood for contracting health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
