Less than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy are able to get them, states the World Health Organization as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable access to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a lifelong illness that can be addressed with thorough and continuous support," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are key obstacles to universal availability to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial body mass, notes the organization.
Weight-Loss Drug Supply Crisis
Even under the current best projected case, the production of GLP-1 therapies would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, per the WHO.
The guideline encourages countries and companies to expand access, by measures such as patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the primary component of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Function
These medications replicate a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and boost feelings of fullness so users reduce food intake.
Individuals usually see weight reduction within a few weeks of commencing the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to users may see weight return within a year of stopping the medication, when their usual hunger return.
To be overweight or obese raises your chance for developing diseases, like diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.
Excess weight impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
