Fewer than a tenth of individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it publishes its initial recommendations on the therapies.
With more than one billion people worldwide now obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to broad availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the present most optimistic outlook, the manufacturing of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The advice calls on countries and companies to increase availability, through strategies like voluntary licensing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so people eat less.
People usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research suggests people may see weight return after a year of stopping the medication, as their typical hunger resume.
To be carrying excess weight raises your chance for contracting medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
