Fewer than 10% of individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy can access them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its first guidance on the drugs.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is calling for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
According to forecasts, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and ongoing care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to widespread access to the injections that can help people shift considerable weight, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current most optimistic case, the supply of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, per the health organization.
The advice urges countries and companies to expand availability, via measures such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Function
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so individuals eat less.
People usually start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests people may put most of the weight back on within a year of halting the medication, when their typical food cravings resume.
To be carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for contracting health problems, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight affects individuals in all nations and was responsible for millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
