Fewer than one in 10 people who could benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, caution the global health agency as it releases its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
With more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with holistic and continuous care," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are key obstacles to universal access to the injections that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Even in the current most favorable outlook, the production of these medications might only reach about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, according to the health organization.
The guideline urges nations and manufacturers to expand availability, via measures including voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the core component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Work
These medications mimick a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so individuals reduce food intake.
People typically see weight reduction within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies indicates people may see weight return after a year of halting the drug, when their normal food cravings come back.
To be above a healthy weight raises your likelihood for contracting health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
