Less than one in 10 people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, caution the World Health Organization as it releases its initial advice on the therapies.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even in the present best projected case, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The advice calls on nations and manufacturers to increase availability, by approaches like patent sharing.
A patent on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Operate
These medications mimick a body's own hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and boost the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies indicates patients may see weight return a year later of halting the medication, as their typical food cravings come back.
Being overweight or obese increases your risk for developing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity impacts people in all nations and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
