Fewer than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it issues its first guidance on the therapies.
Given more than one billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with holistic and continuous treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to universal availability to the treatments that can help people shift substantial weight, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the current most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The recommendation calls on countries and companies to widen access, via measures like voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Operate
These medications imitate a natural hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and enhance satiety so users consume fewer calories.
Individuals usually start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the regular doses.
Studies suggests people may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the treatment, when their usual appetite return.
Being overweight or obese elevates your likelihood for contracting diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity impacts people in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
