Less than one in 10 individuals that would benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it issues its first recommendations on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is calling for increased and just access to these injectable treatments.
Per forecasts, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and ongoing support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are significant obstacles to universal access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, explains the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even in the current most favorable outlook, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The guideline encourages governments and firms to expand availability, by strategies including voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Work
These medications imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so users consume fewer calories.
Individuals commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of discontinuing the treatment, as their normal appetite resume.
To be overweight or obese raises your risk for contracting health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
