Fewer than one in 10 people who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, caution the global health agency as it releases its initial advice on the medications.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
Per estimates, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with thorough and continuous care," said its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to widespread availability to the jabs that can help people shift considerable body mass, explains the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the present best projected case, the supply of such drugs could only cover about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, as stated by the health organization.
The guideline urges governments and firms to expand access, by measures like voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the main ingredient of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and boost satiety so people eat less.
Patients commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to users may see weight return within a year of stopping the treatment, as their usual hunger resume.
Being overweight or obese increases your risk for contracting health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
