Less than 10% of individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, states the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial advice on the therapies.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and continuous treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to universal access to the treatments that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the current most favorable outlook, the supply of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The advice urges governments and firms to expand availability, by measures such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the main component of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
The injections replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase satiety so people consume fewer calories.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates users may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the medication, when their normal hunger resume.
To be overweight or obese increases your risk for experiencing diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
