Less than one in 10 people who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, caution the World Health Organization as it releases its first recommendations on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is advocating for increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, over two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be addressed with thorough and lifelong care," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are key hurdles to widespread availability to the treatments that can help people shift considerable weight, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current best projected scenario, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The advice urges governments and firms to expand access, via measures including patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake.
People typically see weight reduction within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Evidence points to users may put most of the weight back on after a year of halting the medication, because their usual appetite resume.
To be above a healthy weight increases your risk for contracting health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
