Under one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy are able to get them, states the global health agency as it publishes its inaugural guidance on the drugs.
Given in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently obese, it is calling for increased and just availability to this class of drugs.
Based on estimates, more than two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and ongoing treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to widespread access to the jabs that can help people shift substantial weight, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the present most favorable scenario, the production of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the health organization.
The advice urges nations and manufacturers to widen access, by approaches such as patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Work
GLP-1 drugs mimick a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so people consume fewer calories.
Individuals usually begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence points to users may see weight return a year later of halting the treatment, because their usual food cravings resume.
Being carrying excess weight increases your risk for developing medical conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.
Excess weight affects individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
