Fewer than 10% of patients that would benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its first advice on the medications.
With more than one billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with thorough and ongoing care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to broad access to the treatments that can help people shift considerable weight, says the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the present most favorable scenario, the supply of these medications might only reach approximately 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The advice calls on countries and companies to widen availability, via approaches such as voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Function
These medications mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and increase the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
People typically begin shedding pounds after several weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence indicates patients may see weight return after a year of halting the treatment, because their typical food cravings return.
To be carrying excess weight increases your risk for developing medical conditions, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in all nations and was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
