Under one in 10 patients who could benefit from weight-loss injections including Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its first guidance on the therapies.
With over a billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is urging more widespread and fairer availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per forecasts, over two billion are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines recognises that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and continuous care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant barriers to broad availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing significant body mass, says the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even in the present most optimistic case, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The recommendation calls on governments and firms to increase availability, through approaches including patent sharing.
The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Function
The injections mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals usually start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Studies suggests users may see weight return within a year of stopping the medication, because their typical hunger come back.
Being above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for developing health problems, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain cancers.
Obesity impacts individuals in all nations and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
