Under a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its first advice on the drugs.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
Based on projections, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with comprehensive and continuous treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key obstacles to broad access to the jabs that can help people shift substantial weight, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even in the present most favorable outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The recommendation calls on countries and companies to expand availability, via approaches such as licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and boost satiety so individuals reduce food intake.
Individuals usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence indicates people may see weight return a year later of discontinuing the treatment, because their normal appetite resume.
To be above a healthy weight increases your chance for developing diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight impacts individuals in every country and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
