Fewer than one in 10 individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it issues its initial advice on the medications.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently obese, it is urging increased and just availability to these injectable treatments.
Per estimates, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"Our new guidance recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with comprehensive and continuous care," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key barriers to widespread availability to the treatments that can help people shift considerable weight, says the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the present most optimistic case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation encourages governments and firms to widen availability, via strategies including voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research indicates patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the medication, because their typical appetite come back.
Being above a healthy weight elevates your risk for experiencing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was responsible for 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
