Less than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it publishes its inaugural advice on the medications.
With more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with thorough and ongoing support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and supply-chain constraints are major barriers to broad access to the treatments that can help people shift significant body mass, notes the agency.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even under the present most optimistic outlook, the production of these medications could only cover around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The recommendation encourages governments and firms to expand availability, through measures like voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the main component of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Function
These medications imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so users consume fewer calories.
Individuals commonly begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the regular doses.
Research suggests users may regain a significant portion within a year of halting the treatment, as their normal hunger resume.
To be carrying excess weight increases your risk for experiencing health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.
Excess weight concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
