Fewer than one in 10 people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its first recommendations on the therapies.
Considering over a billion people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Based on estimates, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and lifelong care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the present best projected case, the supply of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to expand access, via strategies including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake.
Patients typically start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Research suggests users may see weight return within a year of stopping the medication, as their typical hunger return.
To be above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for developing health problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Obesity affects individuals in all nations and was responsible for 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
