Under one in 10 patients who could benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its first guidance on the therapies.
With over a billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
Based on estimates, over two billion could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with thorough and lifelong support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to universal access to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, says the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the present best projected outlook, the supply of such drugs might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice urges countries and companies to increase access, via strategies like patent sharing.
A patent on a key compound – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Injections Function
The injections mimick a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so people consume fewer calories.
People usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to people may see weight return within a year of stopping the drug, as their usual hunger resume.
To be above a healthy weight increases your risk for contracting diseases, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in all nations and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
