Less than a tenth of patients who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy are able to get them, caution the World Health Organization as it issues its initial guidance on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Per projections, over two billion could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong support," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to universal availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the current best projected scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The recommendation encourages governments and firms to widen availability, through approaches such as voluntary licensing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core ingredient of a leading brand – is due to expire in a number of countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Work
These medications imitate a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so individuals eat less.
Patients commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies indicates patients may see weight return within a year of stopping the medication, as their usual food cravings come back.
Being carrying excess weight increases your likelihood for experiencing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity impacts people in every country and was responsible for over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
