Less than 10% of people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide currently living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
According to projections, over two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The new guidelines recognises that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and continuous support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to broad access to the jabs that can help people shift significant weight, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Even in the present best projected scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, per the WHO.
The advice encourages governments and firms to widen availability, through measures like voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the main ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Operate
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase the sense of being full so people eat less.
Individuals usually begin shedding pounds after several weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Research indicates people may regain a significant portion within a year of discontinuing the medication, when their typical appetite return.
Being overweight or obese raises your chance for contracting health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some cancers.
Obesity concerns people in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
