Fewer than 10% of people who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it releases its initial guidance on the therapies.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide currently classified as obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Per forecasts, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with holistic and continuous treatment," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key barriers to broad availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, says the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the present best projected case, the production of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline urges countries and companies to widen access, by measures such as patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Injections Work
The injections mimick a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
People usually start to lose weight after several weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests people may see weight return within a year of discontinuing the drug, when their typical food cravings come back.
Being overweight or obese increases your risk for experiencing diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
