Fewer than one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it releases its first advice on the medications.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently classified as obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are key barriers to universal access to the jabs that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even under the present most optimistic case, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The guideline encourages nations and manufacturers to expand access, through strategies like licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the primary ingredient of a leading brand – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake.
Individuals typically start to lose weight after several weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of discontinuing the treatment, when their typical food cravings resume.
Being overweight or obese increases your likelihood for experiencing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight affects people in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
