Fewer than 10% of people who could benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy have access to them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is urging increased and just access to this class of drugs.
According to estimates, in excess of 2,000,000,000 are projected to be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines affirms that obesity is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong support," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
High costs, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are significant hurdles to broad availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing significant body mass, notes the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the present most optimistic case, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover around 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The recommendation calls on governments and firms to widen availability, by strategies including patent sharing.
Exclusive production rights on the active ingredient – the main ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is due to expire in multiple countries in 2026.
The Way Weight-Loss Jabs Work
These medications imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so individuals consume fewer calories.
Individuals typically begin shedding pounds in the initial weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Studies indicates users may regain a significant portion a year later of halting the treatment, because their normal hunger return.
Being overweight or obese elevates your likelihood for developing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific malignancies.
Obesity impacts people in countries worldwide and was linked to over three and a half million deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.
