Under a tenth of patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, caution the WHO as it releases its inaugural guidance on the medications.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide now obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, more than two billion will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and lifelong support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major hurdles to universal access to the jabs that can help people shift considerable weight, says the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the present most favorable scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline urges governments and firms to expand availability, by strategies like licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Function
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase satiety so users consume fewer calories.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Studies suggests people may put most of the weight back on a year later of stopping the medication, as their usual appetite return.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your chance for contracting medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Obesity concerns people in all nations and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
