Under one in 10 people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial recommendations on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
Per estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidance affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with holistic and lifelong treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are key barriers to universal availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even under the present most favorable scenario, the production of these medications might only reach approximately 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, as stated by the health organization.
The recommendation calls on countries and companies to widen access, by strategies including licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Function
GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and increase satiety so users eat less.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies points to people may regain a significant portion within a year of halting the treatment, when their normal appetite return.
Being overweight or obese increases your chance for contracting health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in all nations and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
