Less than one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it issues its initial advice on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
According to estimates, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and lifelong treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are key obstacles to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the present most optimistic case, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The advice calls on countries and companies to expand availability, through approaches including voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Work
The injections imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
People typically see weight reduction within a few weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Evidence points to people may see weight return a year later of stopping the medication, when their usual appetite return.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your risk for developing health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.
Obesity affects individuals in every country and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
