Fewer than a tenth of patients eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy have access to them, caution the World Health Organization as it issues its inaugural guidance on the therapies.
Given more than one billion people worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging broader and more equitable availability to this class of drugs.
Based on projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidance acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be addressed with comprehensive and ongoing treatment," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are major obstacles to universal availability to the injections that can assist patients in reducing considerable weight, notes the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Even under the present most favorable case, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The recommendation encourages nations and manufacturers to expand access, by approaches like patent sharing.
A patent on a key compound – the core ingredient of a leading brand – is due to expire in a number of nations in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Injections Operate
These medications replicate a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and boost the sense of being full so users reduce food intake.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Studies indicates patients may regain a significant portion within a year of stopping the medication, when their typical food cravings resume.
To be carrying excess weight raises your likelihood for developing health problems, like diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Excess weight concerns people in every country and was associated with millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
