Under 10% of people that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its first advice on the medications.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and continuous care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to universal availability to the jabs that can help people shift considerable weight, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Despite the current best projected case, the supply of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The advice calls on governments and firms to widen access, through approaches including patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Work
These medications replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so individuals reduce food intake.
Patients usually start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence points to patients may see weight return a year later of stopping the drug, as their typical hunger resume.
Being carrying excess weight raises your chance for contracting health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
