Less than a tenth of people who could benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it issues its first recommendations on the medications.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with comprehensive and continuous support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key barriers to widespread access to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the current most optimistic scenario, the supply of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline calls on nations and manufacturers to expand availability, through approaches like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Operate
The injections mimick a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so users consume fewer calories.
Patients commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Studies points to users may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the medication, because their typical appetite resume.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your risk for contracting health problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity impacts people in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
