Less than one in 10 patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial guidance on the drugs.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
Per projections, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and continuous care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to widespread availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the present best projected scenario, the supply of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline calls on governments and firms to expand access, by measures including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the core component of a leading brand – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and boost feelings of fullness so individuals consume fewer calories.
People typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Research points to patients may regain a significant portion after a year of halting the medication, when their normal hunger resume.
To be overweight or obese increases your likelihood for developing diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in countries worldwide and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
