Less than a tenth of patients who could benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy can access them, warns the global health agency as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to these injectable treatments.
According to forecasts, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with thorough and continuous treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, constrained manufacturing, and logistical bottlenecks are significant obstacles to widespread access to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing considerable body mass, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Despite the current most favorable scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The recommendation encourages countries and companies to widen access, via measures including licensing agreements.
A patent on semaglutide – the core component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs imitate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so users consume fewer calories.
People commonly see weight reduction in the initial weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research indicates people may see weight return after a year of stopping the treatment, as their typical hunger return.
Being above a healthy weight raises your risk for contracting diseases, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain cancers.
Obesity concerns people in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
