Fewer than 10% of patients who could benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it releases its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Given more than one billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
Per forecasts, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and continuous support," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key barriers to broad access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Despite the current most favorable scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The guideline encourages governments and firms to increase availability, through measures such as licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on a key compound – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Function
These medications imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so users eat less.
Patients typically start to lose weight after several weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Studies points to people may regain a significant portion after a year of discontinuing the medication, as their usual appetite come back.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your likelihood for developing medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in all nations and was associated with 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
