Under 10% of people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, caution the WHO as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the therapies.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be managed with comprehensive and continuous support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major barriers to widespread availability to the injections that can help people shift significant weight, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the current most favorable case, the supply of such drugs could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to increase access, through approaches like patent sharing.
A patent on a key compound – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
These medications mimick a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost feelings of fullness so individuals eat less.
Patients commonly see weight reduction after several weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies suggests patients may regain a significant portion a year later of halting the drug, because their typical food cravings come back.
Being carrying excess weight raises your chance for developing medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in every country and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
