Fewer than a tenth of individuals who could benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy have access to them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the medications.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is calling for increased and just availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and ongoing care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to widespread access to the injections that can help people shift significant body mass, explains the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even in the current most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of these medications might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The advice urges countries and companies to increase availability, by measures such as voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Operate
GLP-1 drugs replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and boost the sense of being full so users consume fewer calories.
People typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to users may regain a significant portion a year later of discontinuing the medication, when their usual hunger come back.
To be overweight or obese increases your chance for experiencing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers.
Excess weight affects people in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
