Under 10% of people eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it issues its first advice on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
According to projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and lifelong treatment," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to widespread access to the jabs that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even under the current best projected scenario, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The recommendation calls on governments and firms to expand availability, through strategies like voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the primary component of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so people eat less.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to users may put most of the weight back on a year later of discontinuing the medication, because their typical hunger come back.
To be above a healthy weight elevates your risk for contracting medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
