Fewer than 10% of people who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to this class of drugs.
According to estimates, over two billion could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidance affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with holistic and continuous support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major barriers to broad availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the present most optimistic outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for around 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The advice calls on countries and companies to widen availability, by approaches like voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on a key compound – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Function
The injections mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
People usually start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research suggests people may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the treatment, because their typical food cravings return.
Being above a healthy weight increases your chance for experiencing diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity affects individuals in every country and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
