Fewer than one in 10 patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy can access them, caution the WHO as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Given over a billion people worldwide now obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
Based on projections, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be addressed with holistic and lifelong care," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major hurdles to broad availability to the injections that can help people shift substantial weight, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Scarcity
Even in the present best projected scenario, the supply of these medications would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The advice encourages governments and firms to increase availability, by measures like licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on semaglutide – the core ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in several countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Work
The injections mimick a natural hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and increase satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.
People typically start to lose weight in the initial weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Evidence suggests people may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the medication, when their normal appetite return.
Being carrying excess weight increases your chance for contracting medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and some cancers.
Obesity affects individuals in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
