Under a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, states the WHO as it releases its inaugural guidance on the medications.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, over two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with thorough and lifelong support," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are major barriers to widespread availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the present most optimistic scenario, the supply of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to expand availability, through measures such as patent sharing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Work
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance the sense of being full so users eat less.
Individuals commonly see weight reduction after several weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence suggests patients may regain a significant portion a year later of stopping the drug, because their usual hunger come back.
Being overweight or obese increases your risk for developing health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity affects individuals in all nations and was associated with over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
