Fewer than one in 10 people who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, states the WHO as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, over two billion could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and lifelong support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to universal availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, says the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Despite the present most optimistic case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline calls on countries and companies to widen access, through measures including patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so individuals eat less.
Individuals usually see weight reduction in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests users may see weight return within a year of halting the treatment, because their usual hunger resume.
To be carrying excess weight increases your risk for developing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
