Fewer than one in 10 people who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its initial recommendations on the drugs.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer availability to these injectable treatments.
According to forecasts, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with thorough and lifelong care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are key obstacles to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable weight, explains the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even under the present most favorable scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the WHO.
The guideline encourages governments and firms to increase access, via measures including voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the core component of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so users consume fewer calories.
People commonly begin shedding pounds after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies indicates users may see weight return a year later of stopping the medication, because their usual food cravings return.
To be carrying excess weight raises your risk for experiencing medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
