Less than a tenth of individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it issues its initial advice on the drugs.
Considering over a billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just access to this class of drugs.
According to forecasts, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"Our latest guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and lifelong support," stated WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to universal availability to the jabs that can help people shift considerable body mass, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current most favorable case, the production of such drugs might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to expand availability, by strategies like licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
The Way Obesity Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so users eat less.
Patients commonly start to lose weight in the initial weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests users may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the medication, when their normal food cravings come back.
Being overweight or obese elevates your chance for contracting health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight affects people in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
