Fewer than a tenth of people that would benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the WHO as it issues its initial recommendations on the drugs.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with thorough and ongoing support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major hurdles to broad access to the injections that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the current best projected scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation urges countries and companies to expand access, by measures such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients usually start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the weekly injections.
Evidence suggests users may regain a significant portion a year later of halting the medication, because their usual appetite come back.
To be carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for developing health problems, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
