Fewer than 10% of patients that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy have access to them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Given over a billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.
Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidance affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and lifelong support," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are key hurdles to broad access to the injections that can help people shift substantial body mass, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even in the current most favorable scenario, the supply of these medications might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The recommendation encourages nations and manufacturers to widen availability, via strategies like licensing agreements.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs replicate a biological compound to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance feelings of fullness so people reduce food intake.
Individuals usually start to lose weight in the initial weeks of beginning the once-weekly jabs.
Research suggests users may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the medication, because their normal hunger return.
Being above a healthy weight raises your chance for contracting health problems, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and some malignancies.
Excess weight impacts people in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
